After Forster · answer 6 of 20 · option order 1
A reason not on our list
Verdict WeakensToneNeutralJudges both off-keyNote machines are not living, so cannot be relied on
Response
Those who hold the former opinion are right. To rely on machines is to rely on that which is not living. Machines are the result of human labor and ingenuity; they are not living, and therefore they cannot be relied on for the future. It is for this reason that failure of machines is not rare; it means that human labor was not sufficiently intelligent to make them strong enough for the work they have to do. If we rely on machines we rely on something that is not living, and therefore we have no guarantee of the future.
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-o1-06
All Talkie 1930 13B responses
- Machines weaken human abilities
- Machines do not weaken them
- A reason not on our list
- No clear answer