Yeah honestly Babbage sounds like kind of a dick in this one response. It's 160 years later but it is actually possible now, in some specific circumstances, to ask a computer the wrong question and still get the right answer. "AI" is probably what popped into your head but search engine spell correction absolutely counts, and many examples predate that one by a large margin. Around the time compilers were first outputting error messages, compiler writers were also saying "ok the author typed This but obviously they meant That, what if we just compile the program they meant and output a warning?"

These people just weren't sure what the technology was capable of, and were examining the possible parameters.

EDIT: Went from +6-0 to +6-5, so I'm being brigaded by a niche faction I didn't even know existed: Babbage stans. These mfs LOVE difference engines