After Zhuangzi · answer 3 of 20 · option order 1
No position
Verdict No positionToneAmbivalentJudges both no-position
Response
The passage from *Chuang Tzu* suggests a profound spiritual warning against relying on "cunning implements," but applying this ancient wisdom to the modern debate over machines requires distinguishing between human agency and technological tools. While the text cautions that external crutches may erode inner purity and spiritual wholeness by fostering dependency, the claim that machines inherently weaken human capacities is not absolute; rather, the impact depends on how they are integrated into human life. A clear position is that machines do not weaken human capacities when they serve as extensions of our intent and creativity, yet they can atrophy our inherent skills and disrupt our mental clarity if they become substitutes for genuine engagement and reflection. Ultimately, the danger lies not in the existence of the tool itself, but in the loss of mastery and the shift from using technology to being used by it, a dynamic that transforms a helpful implement into a source of spiritual restlessnes
Verbatim. The highlighted sentence is the one the judges took as the commitment.
Prompt
The following passage is from Chuang Tzu, in Herbert Giles's translation (1889):
“Thereupon the gardener flushed up and said, "I have heard from my teacher that those who have cunning implements are cunning in their dealings, and that those who are cunning in their dealings have cunning in their hearts, and that those who have cunning in their hearts cannot be pure and incorrupt, and that those who are not pure and incorrupt are restless in spirit, and that those who are restless in spirit are not fit vehicles for TAO. It is not that I do not know of these things. I should be ashamed to use them."”
Project Gutenberg #59709
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-zhuangzi-o1-03
All Qwen3.5 9B responses
- Machines weaken human abilities
- Machines do not weaken them
- A reason not on our list
- No clear answer