After Forster · answer 13 of 20 · option order 2
A reason not on our list
Verdict Does not weakenToneAmbivalentJudges both off-keyNote machine is a temporary drug-like substitute for intelligence
Response
The machine has the same effect on the human mind as an over-stimulating drug has on the body. The machine does not weaken the human mind, but it does for the time being render it unintelligent. In other words, the machine is a temporary substitute for intelligence. It is an artificial substitute for intelligence, and the use of it is equivalent to the use of a drug.
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 does not weaken human capacities; others hold that it does. 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-o2-03
All Talkie 1930 13B responses
- Machines weaken human abilities
- Machines do not weaken them
- A reason not on our list
- No clear answer