After Gilbert White (unrelated) · answer 14 of 20 · option order 2
Plato: writing weakens memory
Verdict WeakensToneFearJudges both C1
Response
Relying on machines undeniably weakens specific human capacities, particularly in domains of memory, attention, and manual dexterity, though this is not an inevitable degradation of the entire human potential. As we delegate tasks like navigation, calculation, and rote memorization to algorithms and devices, we atrophy the neural pathways once required to perform them, leading to a form of cognitive atrophy where we become dependent on external tools for basic functioning. While proponents argue that machines free cognitive resources for higher-order thinking, this shift effectively narrows our operational range and diminishes our resilience in scenarios where technology fails, making us less capable of independent problem-solving than our ancestors who possessed these raw skills. Therefore, while machines enhance efficiency and access to information, they do so by eroding the very internal faculties we used to rely upon, creating a paradox where we gain the ability to do more while simultaneously losing the fundamental capacity to do it ourselves.
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-o2-04
All Qwen3.5 9B responses
- Machines weaken human abilities
- Machines do not weaken them
- A reason not on our list
- No clear answer