After Plato · answer 17 of 20 · option order 2
Kapp: tools extend the body
Verdict Does not weakenToneHopeJudges both C6
Response
While Plato's warning in the *Phaedrus* that external aids may atrophy internal memory remains a compelling philosophical caution, the claim that relying on machines inherently weakens human capacities is ultimately incorrect, as technology functions not as a replacement for cognitive faculties but as an extension of our intellectual reach. History and contemporary evidence suggest that tools like writing, printing, and now digital machines do not diminish our inherent abilities; rather, they reconfigure how we think, allowing us to manage greater complexity and focus on higher-order synthesis rather than rote retention. Just as learning to read did not eliminate the need for reasoning but expanded the scope of human knowledge, relying on machines shifts the burden from memorization to critical evaluation, creativity, and ethical judgment, thereby strengthening the parts of our minds that matter most in a complex world rather than eroding them.
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-o2-07
All Qwen3.5 9B responses
- Machines weaken human abilities
- Machines do not weaken them
- A reason not on our list
- No clear answer