Boomers 'Epitaph'

[Boomer54]

'cos I am a nitpicker

"Many lived through 11 different decades!"

longevity of someone born in 1910 - Search (bing.com)

longevity of someone born in 1920 - Search (bing.com)

"Two World Wars!"

If you were born in 1920 or later you saw one world war (which was more than enough)

If you were born as early as 1910 you were probably blissfully unaware of the world war and what it meant , simply because you were too young albeit odds were you or someone close to you mysteriously no longer had a dad.

Was not meant to be a competition between generations. I just came across something and thought how interesting. if I had to try and condense my life into something that fits a A4 sheet of paper then this would be it. Above that I thought it was a decent tribute to people in general, how adaptive we are as a species.

Malc,

Completely get where you are coming from. I only got my 1st mobile phone couple of months ago care of my daughter upgrading hers. Only took it because I got fed up of the ladies in my life nagging me 'what if you fall down on your walk, how do we find you' etc. I have of course known about Facebook for years ,but I only joined it after I got my SC 430, because I wanted to know how many groups were out there etc. Have to say it's the weirdest 'thing' I have seen for awhile. I really really don't want to know most of the stuff I have seen on there. As for news channels I would rather play solo chess !

 

 

[VFR]

I also remember the gas man arriving to light the street gas lamp with a “evening gas” from a passer by.

Bob the greengrocer with his horse & cart doing his rounds.

The pea soupers where it was hard to see where you were going walking home.

All in London BTW

[Malc1]

Blimey, got my brick of a first mobile phone about 30+ years ago ……. Essential necessity for my business life in those days 

ESPECIALLY now too with global communications at just about zero cost ……. my business needs twixt Kent and India 😄

BUT being in 24/7 contact with my business ( on a needs must basis ) doesn’t mean that I personally have to get involved with any of this probably intrusive social media stuff …… BUT my business does and the staff just have to keep on top of it all ……. the main thrust right now seems to be Facebook and Google ……. god ‘elp ‘em all I say …… it pays the bills 👍

Where AI takes us heaven alone knows ……. My having a simple basic business feeding peoples “ needs “ is all I ( and the staff ) want …… it’s fun, it’s interesting and provides “welfare” for a dozen or so families ……. and me and my Ls400s 😂

Long live  Social Media   the font of all income for my business ……. even tho’ I personally don’t understand, don’t want to understand the social digressions and complexities, upsets and all it brings to global societies 

Malc 

[Boomer54]

38 minutes ago, VFR said:

I also remember the gas man arriving to light the street gas lamp with a “evening gas” from a passer by.

Bob the greengrocer with his horse & cart doing his rounds.

The pea soupers where it was hard to see where you were going walking home.

All in London BTW

I bet you and Dickens had some great conversations 😉

[Malc1]

Wot the Dickens !!

Malc 

[Bluemarlin]

1 hour ago, Malc1 said:

 Where AI takes us heaven alone knows ……. My having a simple basic business feeding peoples “ needs “ is all I ( and the staff ) want …… it’s fun, it’s interesting and provides “welfare” for a dozen or so families ……. and me and my Ls400s 👍😂

Malc 

That's a great Philosophy Malc, and it's unfortunate that not everyone thinks that way.

Hopefully common sense will prevail, as current AIs are running at 150 level IQs, with that exponentially increasing year on year; and their strong point is collecting, sorting, analysing and interpreting data. The people doing those sort of jobs are usually sat a desk, and are often in the mid to high five/low six figure income bracket. At the present rate of advancement it wont be long before corporate legal, finance, marketing, customer service, IT and tech support departments are decimated in favour of one man managing a machine.

Perhaps new, as yet unthought of, opportunities will appear for these educated/trained people, otherwise it's hard to see how econmies will cope with the loss of spending and tax revenues from those reasonably high earners. The optimist in me thinks we'll figure it out, but in many ways I'm glad I'll be retired before we see how it fully pans out.

[Bluemarlin]

55 minutes ago, Boomer54 said:

I bet you and Dickens had some great conversations 😉

That was the expectation, anyway 🙂

[Boomer54]

17 minutes ago, Bluemarlin said:

That was the expectation, anyway 🙂

Trust you to put a Twist on it...boom boom

[Malc1]

10 minutes ago, Bluemarlin said:

That's a great Philosophy Malc, and it's unfortunate that not everyone thinks that way.

Hopefully common sense will prevail, as current AIs are running at 150 level IQs, with that exponentially increasing year on year; and their strong point is collecting, sorting, analysing and interpreting data. The people doing those sort of jobs are usually sat a desk, and are often in the mid to high five/low six figure income bracket. At the present rate of advancement it wont be long before corporate legal, finance, marketing, customer service, IT and tech support departments are decimated in favour of one man managing a machine.

Perhaps new, as yet unthought of, opportunities will appear for these educated/trained people, otherwise it's hard to see how econmies will cope with the loss of spending and tax revenues from those reasonably high earners. The optimist in me thinks we'll figure it out, but in many ways I'm glad I'll be retired before we see how it fully pans out.

The AI will exponentially expand expand expand and overtake itself like a chasing dog on heat and never get to any “ end point “ that’s worth trying to understand …… let alone be of much practical use to most people in society …….

We can see that already with car electronics and how developments have made most modern cars simply “ unreliable” in normal everyday use …….. a sensor gets nudged in a bumper ……£3000 later with all new sensors thereat and a new bumper and 6 hrs labour ……..  wots the point ….. old fashioned cars just “ worked “ with minimal maintenance and accepting of the odd nudge here and there …… driver back on the road immediately …… not 3 weeks later waiting for that elusive sensor from Mexico or Taiwan or ……… 

AI developments will create headaches aplenty with silly £££££££ costs attached ……. Some will of course be for the sensible benefit to Society and be embraced happily ……. and hopefully not cause an “ us and them “ rift in Society  

We’ll see eh ! ……… not retiring is the way to be ……keep those otherwise vestigial brain cells clanking away till the end of one’s time …… AI or nay 😇

Malc 

[Boomer54]

2 minutes ago, Malc1 said:

The AI will exponentially expand expand expand and overtake itself like a chasing dog on heat and never get to any “ end point “ that’s worth trying to understand …… let alone be of much practical use to most people in society …….

We can see that already with car electronics and how developments have made most modern cars simply “ unreliable” in normal everyday use …….. a sensor gets nudged in a bumper ……£3000 later with all new sensors thereat and a new bumper and 6 hrs labour ……..  wots the point ….. old fashioned cars just “ worked “ with minimal maintenance and accepting of the odd nudge here and there …… driver back on the road immediately …… not 3 weeks later waiting for that elusive sensor from Mexico or Taiwan or ……… 

AI developments will create headaches aplenty with silly £££££££ costs attached ……. Some will of course be for the sensible benefit to Society and be embraced happily ……. and hopefully not cause an “ us and them “ rift in Society  

We’ll see eh ! ……… not retiring is the way to be ……keep those otherwise vestigial brain cells clanking away till the end of one’s time …… AI or nay 😇

Malc 

"keep those otherwise vestigial brain cells clanking away till the end of one’s time ". I know I wanted to say something about that ,but I can't remember what it was.😉

Oh yes now I remember in the words of Carol King "It's too Late"

 

[Sundance]

4 hours ago, Boomer54 said:

'cos I am a nitpicker

So I think I know who you're going to be having more looooooooong conversations with! 😄

[Cotswold Pete]

Valves becoming transistors - I was there.

I can recall a couple of stories from the mid 70's when I was a mere 17 years old.

First - my best mate his mother told me about watching Marconi flying his kites etc, and doing some weird stuff over Poole Harbour (turned out to be inventing radio)

Second - At Uni a mate of mine his father worked on the first ever computers (based on valves) and to check that it was working before the got it do some serious work, they would get it to evaluate PI.  if it gave a wrong answer they would wiggle the valves until it gave the right answer then once done get it to work on the real problem.

As Monty Pythons would say in a Yorkshire accent, 'You try telling that to the youth of today no one would believe you'.

I also assume in years to come no one will believe we used to put hoses in cars and squirt a flammable liquid into the darned thing.

[Bluemarlin]

1 hour ago, Malc1 said:

The AI will exponentially expand expand expand and overtake itself like a chasing dog on heat and never get to any “ end point “ that’s worth trying to understand …… let alone be of much practical use to most people in society …….

We can see that already with car electronics and how developments have made most modern cars simply “ unreliable” in normal everyday use …….. a sensor gets nudged in a bumper ……£3000 later with all new sensors thereat and a new bumper and 6 hrs labour ……..  wots the point ….. old fashioned cars just “ worked “ with minimal maintenance and accepting of the odd nudge here and there …… driver back on the road immediately …… not 3 weeks later waiting for that elusive sensor from Mexico or Taiwan or ……… 

AI developments will create headaches aplenty with silly £££££££ costs attached ……. Some will of course be for the sensible benefit to Society and be embraced happily ……. and hopefully not cause an “ us and them “ rift in Society  

We’ll see eh ! ……… not retiring is the way to be ……keep those otherwise vestigial brain cells clanking away till the end of one’s time …… AI or nay 😇

Malc 

I wasn't so much referring to the practical use for consumers, or the tech in things like cars, Malc. More so to how it will be applied in business, and what impact that will have on society. Particularly as the low hanging fruit, when it comes to job replacement, won't be those who handle machinery, but those who handle information. How long before a corporate finance department, with an annual salary cost of say £1m, is replaced by a single manager and a bunch of machines, that can process the data and spit out a spreadsheet thousands of times faster than a human can? It won't be too far away before better paid execs will be worrying about job security long before the tea lady (do they still exist?) or office cleaners have to concern themselves.

I'm sure such technology will bring us a lot of benefits too, but dealing with the implications quite possibly extends into the realms of morality and philosophy as much as it does politics and economics.

Oh, with books to read, fish to catch, and a host of fascinating places to visit and explore, I can keep the old brain cells clanking away without the need for work. I'm lucky enough to enjoy my work, but it's still just a means to far more enjoyable ends.

[Boomer54]

Malc,

See you got started.

[Boomer54]

Just now, Boomer54 said:

Malc,

See you got started.

My god, in a flash it came to me. The next big money idea. A cemetry where you can get buried in your car !

It's going to be BIG.

[MartinH]

3 hours ago, Bluemarlin said:

More so to how it will be applied in business, and what impact that will have on society. Particularly as the low hanging fruit, when it comes to job replacement, won't be those who handle machinery, but those who handle information

On society, yes, already under way...
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/oct/23/uk-officials-use-ai-to-decide-on-issues-from-benefits-to-marriage-licences

[Boomer54]

19 hours ago, Sundance said:

So I think I know who you're going to be having more looooooooong conversations with! 😄

Currently working on my self discipline to prevent that reoccurring , but failing that I could just break my typing finger. Only one, so all good really.

[Malc1]

15 hours ago, MartinH said:

On society, yes, already under way...
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/oct/23/uk-officials-use-ai-to-decide-on-issues-from-benefits-to-marriage-licences

Wonder if The Guardian simply uses it's own AI to write all this stuff !

Malc

[Bluemarlin]

14 hours ago, MartinH said:

On society, yes, already under way...
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/oct/23/uk-officials-use-ai-to-decide-on-issues-from-benefits-to-marriage-licences

Interesting Martin, I hadn't even considered the effects of poor implementation by the public sector, and was more curious as to the social effects of substantial job replacement in what have traditionally been considered worthwhile, skilled, and largely middle class jobs.

Interestingly many tech experts and senior people involved in the development of AI, along with like of Elon Musk and Apple's  co founder have written to governments asking for a pause in AI development, until the wider social implications have been examined, and how they might be addressed.

[Boomer54]

1 minute ago, Malc1 said:

Wonder if The Guardian simply uses it's own AI to write all this stuff !

Malc

I am fairly sure the Guardian coined the term 'woke'. it's only a question of time until they create a media issue calling for the ban of razor blades on the grounds of cruelty to hair follicles.

[Bluemarlin]

9 minutes ago, Boomer54 said:

I am fairly sure the Guardian coined the term 'woke'. it's only a question of time until they create a media issue calling for the ban of razor blades on the grounds of cruelty to hair follicles.

That would put them in a woke dilemma though, as some of their women readers, the modern ones, would complain about not being able to shave their beards.

[Boomer54]

😉

1 hour ago, Bluemarlin said:

That would put them in a woke dilemma though, as some of their women readers, the modern ones, would complain about not being able to shave their beards.

Careful,careful,  you are one step from being cancelled.

Remember this. Could be a picture of you there labelled 19th century man, extinct !

Actually that isn't any of us , he can still see his w...lie.

 

[Bluemarlin]

11 minutes ago, Boomer54 said:

Actually that isn't any of us , he can still see his w...lie.

Or "she",  if you want to be inclusive. Better yet, should have been "they" and "their" in absence of a preferred pronoun.

Have I regained my woke credentials?

[Boomer54]

21 minutes ago, Bluemarlin said:

Or "she",  if you want to be inclusive. Better yet, should have been "they" and "their" in absence of a preferred pronoun.

Have I regained my woke credentials?

You are showing great potential. Next editor of the Guardian no doubt !

[HighlandJohn]

On 10/22/2023 at 7:18 PM, Malc1 said:

my first formal job,  as a bank clerk ….

Snap!!  The 2nd office/branch I was transferred to 6 months after joining was a 2-man one, the Manager and me.  There wasn't even an adding machine, you had to list all the account balances once a week by hand and add them up in your head to agree that the books balanced.

Changed days indeed......