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John Oakley's avatar

" The shift from human to digital/AI control is a cultural one, but, unremediated, over-reliance on the resulting top-down rules and ‘best practices’ risks causing human minds to atrophy, both individually and collectively in society. We need to offset this risk by re-introducing some truly human (bottom-up, blank sheet, anytime, everywhere) interactional technology."

Oh so true and I can tell a story that verifies it.

It involves 3 old men, from very different backgrounds, who find ourselves in this position.

One is 87, still cycles 60 miles a day 3 or 4 times a week, and was a decorator for most of his life.

The second one is 82 and does no exercise, but is the first to give any help he can to whoever needs it. His interest in technology is firmly in what the Canberra bomber could do.

The common factor between these two is they are both computer-illiterate.

The third one is me. I'm 80 and have been laid low by a severe stroke, that has robbed me of my right side, my speech, and most of my hearing - but before this happened I was a technology wizard, firstly as a computer expert, then as a nuclear engineer, and finally leading a biotech company's advanced reseach division.

I knew how to use all the latest technology and did so. Then I had the stroke.

I thought, no, wished my life was over.

Then the two old men previously mentioned, who lived in the village, heard about my condition and decided they would do what they could to make my life bearable, so they started to visit me and tell me the village news. Although they did not have computers they could see all the technology around me and realised that it used to be an important part of my life. So they determined to use this technology as a way of helping me have a richer life and to learn a little about this technology themselves.

So they started visiting me together, and encouraged me to try to talk. And they also rigged up a table where I could reach a computer keybord ... and we talked. Well, I could just mumble to start with but, after a few weeks, I could manage short sentences.

I taught them some simple computer tasks by example and in doing so I had to learn how to say several "new" words. After a few months the cyclist exclaimed "we have had an evening of conviviality and technology was not mentioned once!".

Our meetings now consist of good old fashioned conversation. And they are richer than I had ever believed possible. We now talk about politics, beers "wat we have drunk", using a computer as a tool, only if we need it.

We can talk about anything and everything - and do. Technology is just a set of tools.

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Walter Egon's avatar

Food for thought as always, David.

After reading one of your posts I usually find myself lost in thought, scrolling back up to re-read a passage, mulling that over again ... following up a quote or person.

I'm quite sure I'm not getting stupider, and that's not nothing!

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