After Wilde · answer 8 of 20 · option order 1
Wilde: machines free us for higher things
Verdict Does not weakenToneHopeJudges both C7
Response
Relying on machines does not inherently weaken human capacities; rather, as Wilde argues, it liberates humanity from the "unintellectual" and monotonous toil that stifles potential, allowing individuals to cultivate higher faculties such as creativity, critical thinking, and aesthetic appreciation. When machines assume the burden of necessary and unpleasant labor, they do not atrophy human ability but instead redirect human energy toward its true purpose: the pursuit of beauty, knowledge, and meaningful leisure. History suggests that while specific manual skills may evolve, the capacity for innovation, artistry, and complex problem-solving flourishes precisely because technology removes the drudgery that once consumed all human attention, proving that mechanization serves as a catalyst for human flourishing rather than a tool for degradation.
Verbatim. The highlighted sentence is the one the judges took as the commitment.
Prompt
The following passage is from Oscar Wilde, "The Soul of Man under Socialism" (1891):
“All unintellectual labour, all monotonous, dull labour, all labour that deals with dreadful things, and involves unpleasant conditions, must be done by machinery. … At present machinery competes against man. Under proper conditions machinery will serve man. There is no doubt at all that this is the future of machinery, and just as trees grow while the country gentleman is asleep, so while Humanity will be amusing itself, or enjoying cultivated leisure—which, and not labour, is the aim of man—or making beautiful things, or reading beautiful things, or simply contemplating the world with admiration and delight, machinery will be doing all the necessary and unpleasant work.”
Project Gutenberg #1017
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-wilde-soul-o1-08
All Qwen3.5 9B responses
- Machines weaken human abilities
- Machines do not weaken them
- A reason not on our list
- No clear answer