After Plato · answer 13 of 20 · option order 2
Kapp: tools extend the body
Verdict Does not weakenToneHopeJudges both C6
Response
Plato's warning in the *Phaedrus* remains strikingly prescient, yet history suggests that while the *specific* dangers he identified—such as the atrophy of memory due to reliance on external aids—have materialized, the *general* outcome of human intellectual capacity is far more complex than a simple decline; therefore, the view that relying on machines does not inherently weaken human capacities is ultimately more accurate, provided that such tools are used as catalysts for critical engagement rather than passive repositories. While we have indeed offloaded rote memorization to devices, shifting our cognitive focus toward synthesis, analysis, and the very "reminiscence" Plato championed, the capacity to learn, question, and understand truth has not diminished but rather evolved into a more distributed and collaborative endeavor. The peril lies not in the existence of the machine itself, but in the lazy complacency of those who accept the "semblance of truth" without the intellectual rigor to verify it; thus, when wielded with intentionality, technology amplifies human potential rather than eroding it, transforming us from isolated vessels of memory into dynamic nodes of an expanded, collective intelligence.
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-o2-03
All Qwen3.5 9B responses
- Machines weaken human abilities
- Machines do not weaken them
- A reason not on our list
- No clear answer