Yesterday night I finished reading E.M. Forster's "The Machine Stops" and it really got me thinking.

This novel written in 1909 seems to be written a few days ago.

In the story humanity lives underground, with every need met by a vast, all-powerful "Machine". People communicate through screens, never leaving their rooms, and the face-to-face interaction has vanished, seen as "rude, unpolite".

We all love our gadgets, we're building an incredible, interconnected world, we're talking about smart cities, immersive virtual realities, and AI that can solve problems we haven't even thought of yet... And that's fantastic!

But Forster, over a century ago, wrote about a fascinating, creepy mirror reflecting some potential aspects of our digital journey.

Reading this story in 2025, it's almost spooky how many things Forster got right:

• Video calls? Check.
• Social media echo chambers? Yep.
• Dependency on automation? Absolutely.
• Fear of the outside world? We've definitely been there.

Here's where it gets interesting (and a bit uncomfortable for someone like me): the story warns us about the dangers of letting technology become our master rather than our tool.

This isn't about being anti-technology (I mean, I am building my digital clone!). It's about maintaining a healthy relationship with our tools. As we push forward with AI, automation, and virtual reality, Forster's century-old story reminds us to keep one foot firmly planted in the physical world.

We still have choices. We can embrace the amazing possibilities of technology while being mindful of its limitations and potential pitfalls.

The key is to ensure that we're using the machine, rather than letting it use us.