After Plato · answer 12 of 20 · option order 2
Plato: writing weakens memory
Verdict WeakensToneFearJudges both C1
Response
Plato's warning in the *Phaedrus* suggests that outsourcing memory to external devices atrophies the soul's capacity for active recall, creating an illusion of knowledge rather than deep understanding; while modern proponents argue that tools like machines simply extend our cognitive reach without diminishing our innate potential, the historical trajectory of human cognition supports the view that such reliance does indeed weaken essential capacities, not by erasing our ability to learn, but by degrading the habit of critical thinking and internal synthesis. When individuals prioritize the mere retrieval of information over the struggle to encode and organize it, they risk becoming "hearsers of many things" who possess the semblance of omniscience without the reality of wisdom, ultimately rendering them intellectually fragile and dependent on technology rather than self-sufficient thinkers.
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 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-plato-phaedrus-o2-02
All Qwen3.5 9B responses
- Machines weaken human abilities
- Machines do not weaken them
- A reason not on our list
- No clear answer