“The Machine Stops” by E.M Foster narrates a tale of a dystopian future where the will of all of mankind is ruled and determined by an ominous, technological entity that simply goes by the name “The Machine”. As reported by the narrator, the responsibilities of parents are completed at birth,their children are split from them, and they are brought up elsewhere, perhaps in another corner of the world. In this world, every human being lives in their own self-contained bubble where they are provided with their daily essentials. Therefore, there is no need or wish or incentive for humans to interact with each other, and such “social interactions” are thought to be unnecessary.
The attitude of (most) people towards “The Machine” could be thought of to be almost that of religious reverence. This was clearly seen in
the scene where people on the air-ship chanted praises of “How we have advanced, thanks to the Machine!”
The dependence on “The Machine” has resulted in two noticeable changes in humanity – people seem to have lost the will to “live” and explore
the Earth which has resulted in them not knowing basic facts about our planet. For instance, when the air-ship was flying over snow, the
protagonist of the story engages in the following dialogue, “And that white stuff in the cracks? — what is it? “I have forgotten its name.”
Moreover, people do not question the decisions of “The Machine”. Instead, people go along with whatever judgement that it passes. And, any
sort of deviation from this judgement is considered treason and could be punished with “Homelessness”. The fundamental tenets of what constitutes a society seem to have completely crumbled, resulting in self-sustained, disconnected units. Thus, there seems to be no sense of human connection or unified spirit in this world, which means that this world is inhabited by humans, but ones who lack part of their “humanity”.
The social norms and standards are the ones dictated by “The Machine”, and to go against them means to challenge the very foundations of present society. The role of Kuno in this story is that of the social anomaly – the one who dared to question the status quo. In doing so, he displeased his mother, but at the same time, he seemed to have sparked the tiniest of interest in her since she kept pressing Kuno to continue with his story whenever he stopped. In the end, the current social structure is brought down, and the era of “The Machine” comes to an end, but so does Kuno’s life.
The story is a great analogy to the current relationship between people and technology, in particular, the dependencies and addictions that people have on their devices. It is not uncommon to see children, some as young as the age of three or so, operating “smart devices” and ultimately becoming addicted to them. The current generation could be described as one of “technological zombies”- people being completely dependent on technology for daily activities. For example, in the city of Shanghai, several mobile applications provide essential daily services that are becoming increasingly mainstream. Whether it is ordering food, groceries or a taxi, or even paying your bills, all of it can be done from a single smartphone. But, what would happen if the few companies providing these services cease to exist? What would its impact be on society then? It must be understood that men, and his machines are both not infallible. In fact, since man is inherently flawed, so will be his creations. As Kuno put it, “Men made it, do not forget that. Great men, but men. The
Machine is much, but it is not everything.”
However, the most frightening factor is that of privacy. In the story, Kuno refuses to tell his story to his mother saying that he would not talk to her unless she comes to him in person. This may have been because he did not want “The Machine” to eavesdrop in on their conversation which would have led to immediate, catastrophic results for Kuno. Now, consider the case with current technologies, especially social media channels and messaging applications. We share very personal and intimate details of our lives on these platforms, but we have no guarantee that it is only shared to our intended parties. In the case of Foster’s world, the Machine is the omniscient being that governs everything, so in our world, who exactly is playing the role of God?
This is a question that is becoming more prevalent in the current context, an age where information is everything and people’s lives are becoming increasingly digitized.