After thoroughly reading “The Machine Stops” by E.M. Forster, I immediately thought of a recurring topic that the short story directly related to Communication Lab: the existence of technology overpowering the existence of humans. Kuno struggled to maintain a human relationship with his mother Vashti simply as a result of the Machine becoming something that people rely on in all aspects of their lives. I felt that the way the author described the relationship between Kuno and Vashti was incredibly mindful as they used realistic human scenarios connecting to the dangers of technology. While I originally thought that the Machine sounded like an incredible benefit to humans, I quickly realized the author’s intention to show the Machine as a God-like figure that had replaced true human ways of life. By choosing to capitalize “Machine,” I personally viewed the Machine itself as more of a religious or sacred object rather than an actual Machine. Despite the purpose of the Machine to make human functions such as communication easier, when reading through the story, I feel that Vashti and Kuno relied on the Machine too heavily. As a result, I saw this as a similar situation to modern day technology as both Vashti and Kuno forget how to act as humans due to their reliance on the Machine. Similarly to humans in today’s society, we often immediately jump to our phones, computers, or whatever electronic devices we have in hopes of making our day to day communication easier. However, like Kuno and Vashti, too often do we wait until it is too late before realizing the dangers of technology as well as the benefits. Once the Machine is finally destroyed, Kuno and Vashti are freed from its imprisonment. However, their inability to separate true human interaction from technological interaction made me think of everything we as humans are doing today. While advanced programs and devices help us in amazing ways, I feel that it is quite easy to fall into a black hole like Kuno and Vashti’s society. I feel that the story demonstrates issues that may be presented as fictional, but in reality, relate to humans and technology today more than ever. Most of all, I viewed the story as both a message and a lesson. We cannot and should not abuse the privileges of rapidly improving technology. While it makes communicating easier, I feel that it is important to be aware of situations like Kuno and Vashti’s. Therefore, I view technology as beneficial to create works of art and aid basic functions, but also feel that we should not rely on it in replacing our actions as human beings.