Conversion to electrification from a mechanical mode is not without its challenges. Getting the two – manual and electronic – to merge is the goal because neither excludes the other. Amusingly I am writing these words while sitting in my car in a subterranean garage with no WiFi connection. Indeed I am uncertain whether this composition will survive my experience here. The reason for the uncommon choice of writing desk is that I am waiting to see whether the charger for my new tricycle works as it should.

Having just returned from an outdoor tricycle ride on this beautiful springtime day it was the last avenue of inquiry to check whether the charging feature works (the charger itself and its connecting cords to the outlet and to the battery). Coincidentally – while opening the storage cage and retrieving the charger and its connection cords – I have painfully reminded myself that standing upright for more than 30 seconds is an unqualified effort (and likely an imminent decline). Accordingly – with the trike stationed immediately adjacent the trunk of the car and within reach of the 120v outlet – I opened the trunk of the vehicle to permit me to sit on its edge while connecting the charger to the battery and the charger to the outlet. Once that duty was performed I opened the driver’s door and sat inside. It allowed me to recover from the seemingly petty need to stand for a moment.  Not to worry though. I find the Ozempic (at the stronger dose of 1 ml) is proving its worth.  My hope is that I can lose 35 pounds; which in turn I hope will relieve at least some of the pressure on my crumbling spine (for which by the way I am professionally advised there is no easy cure).

Meanwhile – killing time to await the profit of my trike’s electrical boost – I marvel at the similarly marvellous ability to render this written account on my iPhone.  I shamefully recall that when desktop computers first appeared on the popular scene in the early 1980s I advocated determinedly against the need for electronic word processing.  That objection didn’t last long.  Soon I was buying a new computer every year to keep pace with evolving improvements.

And – years later – now this! I am a confirmed technocrat! I am convinced that technology will guide the way to convenience and improvement in society at every level.  And while I fully acknowledge that AI and algorithms generally will never replace the so-called “humanism” element, technology will in my belief benefit the processes in which it is engaged.  It does of course require the initial human ingenuity. If for example one beckons AI to create a manuscript from scratch, there will be nothing developed but circular correspondence perhaps built upon capital having no reflection of the “author’s” reality.

It is for this reason that, as a general prescription of my limited human activity, I always prefer to begin with a blank page both literally and metaphorically. This does not limit the strength or variety of models eminating from others or from nature. Their influence is always open to translation (because that’s all it ever is). It does however demand that I fill the blank page with my own expression. Here once again I prefer to start with the basic option in its customary upright form (as opposed to landscape for example). The other – equally important demand – is that filling the blank page must be based upon adequate intellectual enquiry. Engaging AI in the process is for me always the last step in the development of a narrative. Using AI as I have on several occasions I have learned to accept its “refinement” willingly (and frequently with commendation). To do so I find is no more repugnant than to acquaint myself with any other intelligence through reading. It is a tool.  It is just as fascinating at times as the way I can effortlessly “edit” a photograph on my iPhone.  In neither case – writing or photography – do I understand the underlying software that enables AI or the iPhone to create these often outstanding modifications. But whatever the source or description of the functions, I am convinced of their utility and gratification.  It would be absurd to ignore the use of the capacity when it is at hand.