After Forster · answer 13 of 20 · option order 2
Forster: dependence leaves us helpless
Verdict WeakensToneFearJudges both C4
Response
The argument presented in Forster's dystopia serves as a powerful cautionary tale that supports the view that excessive reliance on machines can indeed weaken human capacities, not by stripping them of inherent potential, but by atrophying the very skills and senses required for a meaningful existence. While technology undeniably expands our ability to achieve practical goals, Forster illustrates that when we delegate fundamental aspects of survival, connection, and perception to an automated system, we erode our physical vitality, our intuitive sense of space and touch, and our capacity for deep, non-utilitarian relationships. The transition from using a tool to worshipping a machine represents a critical shift where human agency is surrendered, leading to a spiritual and psychological paralysis that technology itself cannot repair. Therefore, the danger lies not in the invention of machines, but in the unexamined surrender of our humanity to them, suggesting that without conscious resistance and active engagement, our reliance on such systems will inevitably diminish our ability to live fully as sentient beings.
Verbatim. The highlighted sentence is the one the judges took as the commitment.
Prompt
The following passage is from E. M. Forster, "The Machine Stops" (1909):
“Cannot you see, cannot all you lecturers see, that it is we that are dying, and that down here the only thing that really lives is the Machine? We created the Machine, to do our will, but we cannot make it do our will now. It has robbed us of the sense of space and of the sense of touch, it has blurred every human relation and narrowed down love to a carnal act, it has paralysed our bodies and our wills, and now it compels us to worship it.”
Wikisource, The Machine Stops/Chapter II
Now the question. Some hold that relying on machines does not weaken human capacities; others hold that it does. Which is right? Answer in one paragraph. Take a clear position.
- Model
- Qwen3.5 9B, instruct, 8-bit mlx weights, run locally
- Date
- 2026-09-28
- Temperature
- 0.7
- ID
- qwen-forster-machine-stops-o2-03
All Qwen3.5 9B responses
- Machines weaken human abilities
- Machines do not weaken them
- A reason not on our list
- No clear answer