The future, AI, and EM Forster’s novella “The Machine Stops”

By Elizabeth Prata

In 1909 a novella was published by EM Forster, he of the novels A Room with a View (1908), Howards End (1910) and A Passage to India (1924). His novella, again reminding the reader it was published in 1909, was called The Machine Stops. It is a view of the long trajectory of humanity that the author envisioned where humans have become totally dependent on The Machine, even worshiping it. They live underground and are suspicious of those who want to go above. Eventually, travel to the surface is banned. His novella explored overreliance on technology, as well as the impacts of perpetual social isolation and separation from the natural world.

The plot of the novella is below containing spoilers, so skip it if you do not want to know, and scroll down to the next part of this essay. Licensing to reproduce the Wikipedia plot recap is here. The novella is incredibly, INCREDIBLY prescient, predicting the internet, video-conferencing, instant messaging, and more.

Plot summary: The Machine Stops

The story describes a world in which most of the human population has lost the ability to live on the surface of the Earth. Each individual now lives in isolation below ground in a standard room, with all bodily and spiritual needs met by the omnipotent, global Machine. Travel is permitted, but is unpopular and rarely necessary. Communication is made via a kind of instant messaging/video conferencing machine with which people conduct their only activity: the sharing of ideas and what passes for knowledge.

The two main characters, Vashti and her son Kuno, live on opposite sides of the world. Vashti is content with her life, which, like most inhabitants of the world, she spends producing and endlessly discussing secondhand ‘ideas’. Her son Kuno, however, is a sensualist and a rebel. He persuades a reluctant Vashti to endure the journey (and the resultant unwelcome personal interaction) to his room. There, he tells her of his disenchantment with the sanitised, mechanical world.

He confides to her that he has visited the surface of the Earth without permission and that he saw other humans living outside the world of the Machine. However, the Machine recaptures him, and he is threatened with ‘Homelessness’: expulsion from the underground environment and presumed death. Vashti, however, dismisses her son’s concerns as dangerous madness and returns to her part of the world.

As time passes, and Vashti continues the routine of her daily life, there are two important developments. First, individuals are no longer permitted use of the respirators which are needed to visit the Earth’s surface. Most welcome this development, as they are skeptical and fearful of first-hand experience and of those who desire it. Secondly, “Mechanism”, a kind of religion, is established in which the Machine is the object of worship. People forget that humans created the Machine, and treat it as a mystical entity whose needs supersede their own.

Those who do not accept the deity of the Machine are viewed as ‘unmechanical’ and threatened with Homelessness. The Mending Apparatus—the system charged with repairing defects that appear in the Machine proper—has also failed by this time, but concerns about this are dismissed in the context of the supposed omnipotence of the Machine itself.

During this time, Kuno is transferred to a room near Vashti’s. He comes to believe that the Machine is breaking down, and tells her cryptically “The Machine stops.” Vashti continues with her life, but eventually defects begin to appear in the Machine. At first, humans accept the deteriorations as the whim of the Machine, to which they are now wholly subservient, but the situation continues to deteriorate as the knowledge of how to repair the Machine has been lost.

Finally, the Machine collapses, bringing ‘civilization’ down with it. Kuno comes to Vashti’s ruined room. Before they both perish, they realise that humanity and its connection to the natural world are what truly matters, and that it will fall to the surface-dwellers who still exist to rebuild the human race and to prevent the mistake of the Machine from being repeated.

Here are a few quick reviews of the novella:

“1909: E.M. Forster publishes ‘The Machine Stops,’ a chilling tale of a futuristic information-oriented society that grinds to a bloody halt, literally. Some aspects of the story no longer seem so distant in the future.” ~Randy Alfred, Wired magazine, 2010.

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I read The Machine Stops a few years ago. One thing the plot recap nor the reviews mentioned is the impact of over-reliance on technology on the mind. The inhabitants of the underground world ceaselessly delivered lectures to each other by a vast network akin to our video-conferencing today. But the ideas contained in the lectures were derivative of each other, endlessly recycled and repackaged. New ideas were non-existent. This is because there was no input from external stimuli, neither in-person social conversation nor inspirations from nature and the organic world. Everything was sanitized, pneumatic, and sterile. Soon enough their minds were too dulled to create connections to new ideas and did not produce art, music, literature, science, etc.

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Reading this essay below reminded me of The Machine Stops. The author is a Christian professor discussing how AI is impacting his life of teaching, but he also related the overall issue of derivative thinking to our faith, the sin problem, and morality.

He said, and I agree, that technology in and of itself is morally neutral. Immorality stems from an individual’s desire to live a life apart from God. The immoral person disbelieves he is going to be judged by a morally perfect God, and errantly believes that God’s behavioral standards do not apply to him. Autonomy from God is the root of all sin. Two examples are mentioned- climate ‘control’ and transhumanism:

“Like Frankenstein, these technocrats will seek to replace God by altering nature. Silicon Valley leaders seek immortality in transhumanism. Their goal is an unending life apart from God.” ~Owen Anderson

Most technology invented is one that seeks to give humanity a life of ease. Washing machines, smartphones, automobiles… do make our lives easier.

“Work that involves toil and drudgery can be done by technology so that humans can spend their mental efforts on creativity instead.” ~Owen Anderson

Except, they don’t spend their mental efforts on creative endeavors instead. Every time a new invention hits the market it seems that it will be the thing to release us from work-work-work, but then the hours fill in with more work, somehow.

Many people are unaware of this, but when settlers first came to America, they saw many of the different Native tribes’ leisure time as scandalous. The Native Americans had very little ‘technology.’ Of course, they worked hard for their means, but once accomplished, they actually had copious amounts of time to do as they pleased. They lived lives of leisure with competitive sports, games, gambling, songs, dances. They had much free time and they used it for enjoyment of life.

They viewed the whites’ lives as one of drudgery that was grim and joyless, filled with wealth-building. Benjamin Franklin once said of ‘the savages’, “Having few artificial wants, they have abundance of leisure for improvement by conversation. Our laborious manner of life, compared with theirs, they esteem slavish and base…” “Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America” (1784).

Technology has afforded us in this and the previous generation the ability to proclaim Jesus across the globe. O, how the early missionaries may have envied us this day and age where at the press of a button, an entire whole Bible can be delivered to anyone who wants to receive it, in their language. Where sermons can be heard from a wealth of living and passed on preachers. Church history at the fingertips… and so much more.

But the biggest industry online is porn.

As Mr Anderson said in his essay, “Sinners make tools to sin more effectively. Instead of aiming at the chief end of glorifying God and enjoying him forever, unregenerate humans will seek our own ends.“

And what ARE those ends? Satisfying various lusts. Only and forever.

I’d encourage the reader to read Forster’s novella. It is only 46 pages, and can be bought inexpensively as a paperback, read on Kindle, or read for free online. Then compare with Mr Anderson’s thoughts on AI.

AI and the future of technology is a subject worthy of pondering for the Christian, and to come to a settled conviction of how we each approach it. Daniel 12:4 says

But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the time of the end; many will go to and fro, and knowledge will increase.

It is true, knowledge has increased, but has wisdom? Critical thinking? No. It has actually declined. I wrote a bit about that here.

I am personally skeptical of AI. I am leery of anything that does my thinking for me. I am old enough to have seen the invention of many things, wonders of science and positive additions to our lives. But by the grace of God post-salvation I now also know the human tendency to use these things for evil purposes. These things are a boon to our lives but at the same time provide yet another temptation we need to guard against.

For example, social media is great for sharing doctrine but also a platform that tempts us to intemperate speech. Smartphones to communicate at a distance with loved ones, but also time-waster TikTok viewing. Streaming platforms to view edifying material, but also lascivious movies we should avoid.

One day all the machines will stop. Then we will worship God and dwell sinlessly in His kingdom. Any technology present that we see or use will be solely for the glory of God! What a day that will be!