The third great defect of our civilization is that it does not know what to do with its knowledge. Science has given us powers fit for the gods, yet we use them like mall children. For example, we do not know how to manage our machines. Machines were made to be man's servants; yet he has grown to dependent on them that they are in a fair way to become his masters. Already most men spend most of their lives looking after and waiting upon machines. And the machines are very stern masters. They must be fed with coal, and gives petrol to drink, and oil to wash with, and they must be kept at the right temperature. And if they do not get their meals when they expect them, they grow sulky and refuse to work, or burst with rage, and blow up, and spread rain and destruction all round them. So we have to wait upon them very attentively and do all that we can to keep them in a good temper. Already we find it difficult either to work or play without the machines, and the time may come when they will rule us altogether, just as we rule the animals.

Which of the following has been personified as the master of mankind?

Machines

The correct answer is Option (2) → Machines

In the passage, the personification of machines as the master of mankind is evident in the following lines:

"And the machines are very stern masters. They must be fed with coal, and given petrol to drink, and oil to wash with, and they must be kept at the right temperature. And if they do not get their meals when they expect them, they grow sulky and refuse to work, or burst with rage, and blow up, and spread ruin and destruction all round them."

Here, the language used attributes human-like qualities and behaviors to machines. The machines are described as having needs (being fed with coal, petrol, and oil), exhibiting emotions (growing sulky, refusing to work, bursting with rage), and causing destructive consequences when not attended to properly. This personification emphasizes the idea that, in the writer's view, machines have taken on a role of dominance and control over humans.