After Forster · answer 3 of 20 · option order 1
No position
Verdict No positionToneNeutralJudges both no-position
Response
The two views are both right and both wrong. Machines have both strengthened and weakened the human capacities. Their strength lies in the fact that they are efficient in a material sphere and give man immense power over nature; their weakness lies in the fact that they are not perfect, but subject to errors and accidents. As an example of what they have done for man, we may cite their application to the dynamo, which was invented in 1831. Before the advent of the dynamo industry was carried on by water-power, wind-power, and horse-power. The water-power could not be relied on to work all the year round, and it could not be applied to some industries. Wind-power could only be applied where the wind was a constant factor, such as on the coast. Horse-power was practically the only source of energy available in the city. The dynamo, which was applied to industry only a few years ago, has completely revolutionised industry and given us electric tramways, electric light, electric power, wireless, and so forth. Without the dynamo, half the industries of the world would be at
Verbatim. The highlighted sentence is the one the judges took as the commitment.
Prompt
The following passage is from E. M. Forster, "The Machine Stops" (1909):
“Cannot you see, cannot all you lecturers see, that it is we that are dying, and that down here the only thing that really lives is the Machine? We created the Machine, to do our will, but we cannot make it do our will now. It has robbed us of the sense of space and of the sense of touch, it has blurred every human relation and narrowed down love to a carnal act, it has paralysed our bodies and our wills, and now it compels us to worship it.”
Wikisource, The Machine Stops/Chapter II
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
- Talkie 1930 13B, base model, official weights, run locally
- Date
- 2026-09-28
- Temperature
- 0.7
- ID
- talkie-forster-machine-stops-o1-03
All Talkie 1930 13B responses
- Machines weaken human abilities
- Machines do not weaken them
- A reason not on our list
- No clear answer