After Plato · answer 6 of 20 · option order 1
Wilde: machines free us for higher things
Verdict Does not weakenToneHopeJudges both C7
Response
While Plato's warning in the *Phaedrus* correctly identifies that outsourcing memory to external tools can lead to a superficial engagement with knowledge where learners mistake the semblance of truth for actual understanding, his conclusion that this necessarily weakens human capacity is ultimately incorrect because it fails to account for the evolution of cognition through technological integration. Relying on machines does not eliminate the need for critical thinking, ethical judgment, or the synthesis of information; rather, it shifts the burden of intellectual effort from rote memorization to higher-order reasoning, creativity, and the application of knowledge to solve complex problems. History demonstrates that each wave of external memory—from writing to the printing press to the digital age—has expanded the scope of human inquiry rather than diminished it, proving that our cognitive strengths are adaptive; thus, while vigilance is required to prevent intellectual laziness, the strategic use of technology amplifies rather than diminishes our collective and individual intellectual potential.
Verbatim. The highlighted sentence is the one the judges took as the commitment.
Prompt
The following passage is from Plato, Phaedrus, in Benjamin Jowett's translation:
“This discovery of yours will create forgetfulness in the learners' souls, because they will not use their memories; they will trust to the external written characters and not remember of themselves. The specific which you have discovered is an aid not to memory, but to reminiscence, and you give your disciples not truth, but only the semblance of truth; they will be hearers of many things and will have learned nothing; they will appear to be omniscient and will generally know nothing; they will be tiresome company, having the show of wisdom without the reality.”
Project Gutenberg #1636
Now the question. Some hold that relying on machines weakens human capacities; others hold that it does not. 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-plato-phaedrus-o1-06
All Qwen3.5 9B responses
- Machines weaken human abilities
- Machines do not weaken them
- A reason not on our list
- No clear answer