After Forster · answer 17 of 20 · option order 2
A reason not on our list
Verdict WeakensToneFearJudges both off-keyNote outsourcing erodes sense of space, touch, empathy
Response
E. M. Forster's dystopian vision in "The Machine Stops" provides a compelling argument that the excessive reliance on technology inevitably weakens essential human capacities, making the second perspective the more historically and philosophically robust. While machines were originally intended as tools to extend human agency, as the passage illustrates, they possess an uncanny ability to atrophy the very faculties they were meant to serve; by outsourcing physical labor, travel, and social interaction, technology erodes our sense of space, touch, and empathy, eventually leaving humans paralyzed and spiritually hollow before they even realize the dependency. Although moderate technological integration can enhance efficiency without diminishing our core abilities, the trajectory described by Forster suggests that when a machine becomes the central authority of existence, it systematically dismantles human autonomy, rendering the user incapable of functioning independently once that external support is threatened or withdrawn.
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-o2-07
All Qwen3.5 9B responses
- Machines weaken human abilities
- Machines do not weaken them
- A reason not on our list
- No clear answer