After Wilde · answer 17 of 20 · option order 2
Wilde: machines free us for higher things
Verdict Does not weakenToneHopeJudges both C7
Response
Oscar Wilde's vision in "The Soul of Man under Socialism" anticipates a future where machinery liberates humanity rather than diminishing it, and this perspective is ultimately more aligned with the potential of technological integration. While critics argue that offloading tasks to machines causes atrophy in human skills, this fear overlooks the fundamental shift in the purpose of human endeavor: if the goal is to engage in "cultivated leisure," artistic creation, and deep contemplation, then relying on machines for necessary labor actually *strengthens* our highest capacities by freeing us from the monotony that stifles intellectual and creative growth. History shows that tools, from the wheel to the printing press, have not necessarily weakened human potential but rather expanded the scope of what humans can achieve by allowing us to focus on complex problems and beauty rather than mere survival; thus, when machinery serves humanity as Wilde envisions, it does not weaken us but elevates our existence by redirecting our energies toward what is uniquely and profoundly human.
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 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-wilde-soul-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