The Decline of the Human Factor…
To some people in our community, 1992 was not that long ago. To others…their DNA had not yet been assembled into the strands of life.
For me, I had just bought the very first Casio Protrek on the market (ALT-6100),
I was writing letters to friends in cursive and sending them via regular post,
and I listened to my favorites on mix tapes…often arranged by a friend and offered as a stalwart stone of our relationship.
Today, it seems human influence in many daily things (like today’s robotic Protrek) have been assimilated into an artificial rendering of what was. I see this metamorphosis in all walks. Dwindling are the days of ‘meaning’ in the elements of our daily wanderings…as they are being diluted by the ever-increasing ‘bots of progress’. Cursive replaced by AI generated text, mix tapes replaced by streaming bits of data we are told is music (though shitty as it really is), and even the human touch removed from our beloved watches in favor of a statistical algorithm designed to further rid our existence of any meaning.
Do you feel an ‘artificial ether’ in the air (all the way down to our watches) or have I been munching on too many gummies?
Time dictates my linear path to its bitter end. My watches keep me one step ahead of time…and one foot out of the grave.
Yeah, it really started going downhill when the millennium turned. (Tho our decline began when we stopped being hunter gatherers imho 🤣)
I still write checks and always in cursive. If whoever processes them can't read them it's too damn bad. I avoid any renders or writings that even hint of AI.
And ChatGPT can kiss my ass.
Other than that it's all good.
Yes indeed. I miss the more analogue days, Lately new tech is both a good and bad thing. I feel it's there to make more money for the company that owns it rather than as a benefit to all. Things we take for granted now were like magic not that many years ago. I can video my family and friends around the world in hi def with no lag. I remember having to find a "phone exchange" years ago when abroad, paying for a call and then shouting as my family were far away !
Watch wise apart from the the odd thing here and there not much happening. A high end company will invent a new spring or something that you can't see, and the ultra complications watches are worth more than my house. I would love to see more mechanical and digital integration. I know you can get this on some watches but would like to see this taken to a new level.
Mix tapes were great, even after all this time when one of my favorite songs plays on the radio I am expecting the next track to be ....
Yep, pretty soon we'll just be batteries for the machines.
Yes indeed. I miss the more analogue days, Lately new tech is both a good and bad thing. I feel it's there to make more money for the company that owns it rather than as a benefit to all. Things we take for granted now were like magic not that many years ago. I can video my family and friends around the world in hi def with no lag. I remember having to find a "phone exchange" years ago when abroad, paying for a call and then shouting as my family were far away !
Watch wise apart from the the odd thing here and there not much happening. A high end company will invent a new spring or something that you can't see, and the ultra complications watches are worth more than my house. I would love to see more mechanical and digital integration. I know you can get this on some watches but would like to see this taken to a new level.
Mix tapes were great, even after all this time when one of my favorite songs plays on the radio I am expecting the next track to be ....
Well-said.
I still write checks and always in cursive. If whoever processes them can't read them it's too damn bad. I avoid any renders or writings that even hint of AI.
And ChatGPT can kiss my ass.
Other than that it's all good.
There was a woman in line with me at the market who wrote a check for her purchase. As I stood unamazed and patiently waiting for my turn to have my groceries scanned, other people in line had looks of dismay and anguish on their faces. What was once common and the sole business of the individual has become an affront and business of others all in the name of the dilution of our collective human interactions.
I feel you. I don't like the idea of AI being everywhere, that I can be tracked through all my digital devices, music doesn't matter anymore, nobody has patience and everything needs an update these days. But, since you purchased the latest Protrek back in the 90s, we all did enjoy the latest tech back then. Just like everybody does now. But the tech was less intrusive, big tech could not creep into our lives like this and there was a huge part of life which was more human centered. If I could choose, I would get rid of the mobile internet and those smart devices. Less comfort, more human interaction. But hey, we are talking through the internet on a social media app :D
I feel you. I don't like the idea of AI being everywhere, that I can be tracked through all my digital devices, music doesn't matter anymore, nobody has patience and everything needs an update these days. But, since you purchased the latest Protrek back in the 90s, we all did enjoy the latest tech back then. Just like everybody does now. But the tech was less intrusive, big tech could not creep into our lives like this and there was a huge part of life which was more human centered. If I could choose, I would get rid of the mobile internet and those smart devices. Less comfort, more human interaction. But hey, we are talking through the internet on a social media app :D
Right on point! Interestingly, the year I bought my ALT-6100, The internet was still a year away from being introduced. What I thought was the wonderful future after I got it has become just another way to tighten the noose around our necks.
Considering all this is a simulation, are you surprised it’s gone meta?
I really really miss giving out mix tapes to the homies. The last ones I made were cds for my (now) wife, and they have not held up to time, the backing is flaking off and they won’t play. Makes me pretty bummed actually.
Very tired of hearing about AI revolution, like calm down it’s just a word calculator
Right on point! Interestingly, the year I bought my ALT-6100, The internet was still a year away from being introduced. What I thought was the wonderful future after I got it has become just another way to tighten the noose around our necks.
Makes me wondering what the tech in 20 years will be like and if we are still able to escape it if we want to.
Thankfully my cursive hasn't declined. My cursing, on the other hand...
Makes me wondering what the tech in 20 years will be like and if we are still able to escape it if we want to.
A little frightening to think about for sure.
Me, when I find an old mixtape:
https://youtu.be/RcbddBfoaG4?si=gX8VqlDUT95EzUYS
I agree that there is a stench of artificiality, but I am a bastion of hope for generation Z. Cursive is superior. Fountain pens are awesome. Vintage media is great fun, but I have little experience beyond playing around with vinyls and cassettes. There will always be people to keep past things alive.
AI text is a stupid lie naïve youngsters fall for. I laugh at its mention. Even a failing writer like me can run circles around ChatGPT.
I believe that mechanical and electronic technologies should work in harmony. Magnetic tape for computers might come back.
OK nipper, you recorded on cassettes. That's high tec. I used to record from the radio with a reel to reel tape deck. 🤔😁
OK nipper, you recorded on cassettes. That's high tec. I used to record from the radio with a reel to reel tape deck. 🤔😁
I would have loved that. I used TEAC 5050 reel to reels for a lot of night shift broadcast when I was in radio back about 1990. A fabulous high quality playback medium!
Great reminder to listen to Local H!
I would have loved that. I used TEAC 5050 reel to reels for a lot of night shift broadcast when I was in radio back about 1990. A fabulous high quality playback medium!
This was a Philips, in the late 60's.
I agree that there is a stench of artificiality, but I am a bastion of hope for generation Z. Cursive is superior. Fountain pens are awesome. Vintage media is great fun, but I have little experience beyond playing around with vinyls and cassettes. There will always be people to keep past things alive.
AI text is a stupid lie naïve youngsters fall for. I laugh at its mention. Even a failing writer like me can run circles around ChatGPT.
I believe that mechanical and electronic technologies should work in harmony. Magnetic tape for computers might come back.
“ I believe that mechanical and electronic technologies should work in harmony.” That’s an excellent philosophy that has its roots in the days of dot matrix printers and punch card machines. Elegant stuff…built from masterful conception.
It seems to be the trend for the future. Many people are now preferring chatbots to real people:
Yep, pretty soon we'll just be batteries for the machines.
I thought we already were
I think it comes down to a lack of creativity in all walks of life. In the watch world aesthetics are now dominated by reissues; watch brands harkening back to the 60's and 70's. It's easier to build on past designs than to create bold new ones.
My wife runs her online and social media influencer budiness via AI. But she comes up with all of the ideas. She doesn't let AI complete her videos or her scripts. She's a one woman show so it benefits her from an organizational and analytical perspective.
She was invited to speak at Eastern Michigan University by an executive from Pinterest on an AI in November that was put together by the Uni and the Detroit Pistons. AI is looked at as cheating by folks who are only skimming the surface and reading a few articles. What it can do for a business is spectacular.
That being said I feel conflicted. It's the future but if you are lazy it's easier to latch onto old ideas opposed to creating your own.
No offense meant by this just thought it would be a funny response
No offense meant by this just thought it would be a funny response
None taken.
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I think you describe one of the reasons we all love the nostalgia of a mechanical watch.
Using a spring driven series of gears to track time is slightly more like the world I was born into.
My grandfather’s grandfather clock :
I thought we already were
You're right, for those of us who have not yet awakened.