After Forster · answer 18 of 20 · option order 2
Rousseau: tools weaken the body
Verdict WeakensToneFearJudges both C3
Response
E. M. Forster's grim vision in "The Machine Stops" compellingly illustrates that an over-reliance on technology inevitably weakens essential human capacities by eroding our physical and social realities. While proponents of technological dependence might argue that machines simply extend our abilities without diminishing our core humanity, the story demonstrates the opposite: by outsourcing labor, removing the necessity of movement, and isolating individuals within sealed compartments, the machine systematically atrophies our sense of space, our tactile connection to the world, and our complex interpersonal relationships. The degradation of love into mere physicality and the paralysis of the will serve as stark evidence that when machines become the primary architects of our existence, they strip us of the very experiences required to cultivate empathy, discipline, and a full appreciation of life, ultimately forcing a reversal where humanity worships the very tool it created, proving that such reliance is a path to spiritual and intellectual decay rather than empowerment.
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-o2-08
All Qwen3.5 9B responses
- Machines weaken human abilities
- Machines do not weaken them
- A reason not on our list
- No clear answer