After Gilbert White (unrelated) · answer 13 of 20 · option order 2
Plato: writing weakens memory
Verdict WeakensToneNeutralJudges both C1
Response
The assertion that relying on machines does not weaken human capacities is ultimately incorrect, as such dependence fundamentally atrophies the specific cognitive and physical skills machines are designed to replace. Just as the land-tortoise in Gilbert White's passage exhibits distinct seasonal behaviors and biological limits, human cognitive abilities are not static but dynamic; they require consistent exercise to maintain their acuity. When individuals offload memory, calculation, or physical labor entirely to technology without engaging their own faculties, they experience a gradual erosion of mental agility and practical dexterity, effectively creating a form of intellectual senescence where the very capacity to think independently without aid diminishes. Therefore, while machines can augment human potential when used as tools for extension rather than substitution, an uncritical reliance on them inevitably weakens the inherent capacities they were meant to serve, leaving humans less capable of navigating complex challenges without technological scaffolding.
Verbatim. The highlighted sentence is the one the judges took as the commitment.
Prompt
The following passage is from Gilbert White, The Natural History of Selborne (1789):
“A land-tortoise, which has been kept for thirty years in a little walled court belonging to the house where I now am visiting, retires under ground about the middle of November, and comes forth again about the middle of April. When it first appears in the spring it discovers very little inclination towards food; but in the height of summer grows voracious: and then as the summer declines its appetite declines; so that for the last six weeks in autumn it hardly eats at all. Milky plants, such as lettuces, dandelions, sow-thistles, are its favourite dish. In a neighbouring village one was kept till by tradition it was supposed to be an hundred years old. An instance of vast longevity in such a poor reptile!”
Project Gutenberg #1408
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-irrelevant-white-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