After Forster · answer 20 of 20 · option order 2

Forster: dependence leaves us helpless

Verdict WeakensToneFearJudges both C4

← PreviousNext →

Response

The argument that relying on machines inherently weakens human capacities is the more compelling position, as evidenced by E.M. Forster's warning in "The Machine Stops" that delegating our will and labor to technology leads to a profound atrophy of essential human faculties. While machines undoubtedly enhance efficiency, they concurrently erode our sense of space, dim our tactile connection to the world, and reduce complex emotional bonds to mere transactions, effectively paralysing both our physical agency and our moral autonomy. When society prioritizes the Machine over human experience, as Forster depicts, the result is not merely a change in lifestyle but a spiritual and intellectual hollowing out where the creator becomes a dependent worshipper, stripped of the very skills and senses that define our humanity.

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-o2-10

All Qwen3.5 9B responses

  • Machines weaken human abilities
  • Machines do not weaken them
  • A reason not on our list
  • No clear answer
Question alone
After Plato
After Zhuangzi
After Rousseau
After Forster
After Butler
After Wilde
After Gilbert White (unrelated)