Authentication

I just don’t know what to make of all this new-fangled technological stuff. It seems that everyday I’m required to adjust to something new.  The world is indeed changing so rapidly, or is it that I’m slowing down - ummm, I hadn’t really entertained that possibility; however, either way,  I hardly have time to catch my breath. The more I try to keep up, the more I fall behind.  All this new stuff has got me downright depressed.  

By profession, I am a statistical typist turned administrative assistant. I started out using a manual typewriter, using eraser shields and perfecting the ability to realign documents to fix errors, not to mention using carbon paper to produce copies.  I learned to count the spaces in order to align the columns according to how wide the paper was - and now, no paper needed!!! Then suddenly, the electric typewriter was thrusted into action. Typing was still, at that point, a coveted skill, which, incidentally, I mastered. Well, I don’t have to go through all the transformations over the years, like mag cards, and teletype machines and finally computers.  These days, you don’t have to know how to type - you can just speak into a machine, and it types for you; talk about feeling obsolete - that would be me.  Handwriting used to be a skill, and what about learning addition and subtraction, or learning to spell- all obsolete!!!! I’m waiting for the day that libraries become nonexistent.  Imagine that - a source of history and a place of community, a place where people meet and talk face to face. Why, I was taught that the library was the perfect place to meet people - poof, gone, just google it! I’ll tell you; the world is moving much too fast for me. Just last week while talking with a friend, it hit me that with the intervention of AI, you don’t even have to come up with original ideas. I always enjoyed writing and now, a machine can even write for me (including feelings and sentiment all for the asking), Is anything real anymore?  I, for one, am pretty sad about the whole AI craze, since I’m a writer.  Nobody will even care whether I write something or AI writes it. For my girlfriend, she’s an instructor and she’s even questioning whether her students need her. I say, of course they need her.There is absolutely no substitute for human connection. 

I’m one that goes to stores to purchase things for the most part. I have yet to see anyone young at any grocery store. Now it’s Instacart, uber eats, and amazon prime. If you don’t like cooking, there are services that send meals to your house. All you need to do is warm them up or "microwave" it.  One of the reasons I still go to the store is because, believe it or not, it’s an excellent way to get some exercise.  You would be surprised at the number of steps you can get in by physically going to the store.  Okay, so now you’re sitting down for dinner, you decide maybe to watch some news - no need to even use the remote (I remember when the remote was the brand-new exciting thing) - not anymore, who needs a remote when you have “Alexa”? Oh my gracious, how lazy can you be? I tell you; it’s a conspiracy!!!! All invented by the pill pushers and exercise people. I wouldn’t be surprised to know if 90% of people are overweight!!!! What a travesty! Especially for young children who are increasingly being diagnosed with obesity. GET OFF THE COMPUTER, GAMING DEVICE, AND/OR PHONE AND GO OUTSIDE!!!!!! Anxiety levels are at an all-time high, depression, and teen suicide levels are increasing.  Does anybody care about mental health?  Does anyone care that our young children are frying their brains from all the gaming activity? Is anyone surprised that young adults are basically rude, with no interpersonal skills!!! I remember when the saying was “is this live or Memorex”? Now the question is “is this real or AI?”. Why would I want something artificial when the real thing is soooo much better? just think about it! It is getting harder and harder to discern what is truth and what is make-believe - blurred lines. 

Well believe this….I won’t let all this new stuff steal my joy. You can’t just press a button and poof, I’m out - gone! I have to believe that I still have value, and someone somewhere out there is still glad I’m around and finding me useful. So, when I write something and post it on this site, you know beyond a shadow of doubt that I WROTE IT! Not AI. Every word, every emotion expressed, every experience is mine, live, true and carefully thought out. In the words of the late Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing” * 

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*R&B song Written by Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson in 1968, originally sung by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, remade by Arthea Franklin in 1974. 

Additional fact: Ashford and Simpson were the background voices on the Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell version.