Slavery in the machine world

Tong Tong Serto *

As the world marches on the echelon ladder of advancement, in no time, the wide network of A.I, SpaceX etc. dictating the order of the day writ run large. Mind boggling! The ever evolving machine techno landscape has made a big push by leaps and bounds, dehumanising the very human aspect in the process of so called civilization or urbanisation.

Juxtaposed it to the memory lane of 35 years, a picture of close knit society deluge by a cackle of laughter, naïve yet fun filled bunch of boys chitter-chattering away all day long beside the leikai (locality) Pan shop, a sheer joy, devoid of emojis, no worries of admin kicking out the naughty chap, the level of chemistry bond was on the another level thanks to the power outage in regular basis, in fact load shedding term has eroded now.

At times, where hero cycle possession was considered bourgeoisie class category, a beam of pride gushing in with cycling rush to tuition centre and school and sometimes some lucky dude can take a lift in the back of carrier or front bar of the cycle, this is soon to be a past folktale.

Gone are the days all the localites crowded in 24 inches black and white TV for a Fauji serial or testing the patience of the viewers with uncontrolled excitement build up for a movie once in a week.

The phase of evolution continues to gain steam and major sea change on the cards, Bingo! Pretty soon all new term is going to enter the lexicon of Gen Z books. Bonjour, C’est moi viz; FB, Insta, Twitter now X, ChatGPT.

Squeezing to the four inch screen, wait! Need to wrap my head around, is evolution means deflating sizes? Oh, yes, the world is at a flick of a finger tip, you can zoom in & zoom out at will.

Glued to the mini palm machine, the human species has been outwitted in the virtual world of fantasies and unending quenching of baser instinct pursuit.

Mission accomplished huh! It has successfully intruded into the privacy jurisdiction spanning from the bed side to the flush room toilet. Eh! Time to lock your profile…..

The sound of rustling paper seeking every word meaning in the dictionary books has toned down drastically ever since Google steal the spotlight, u ask me and I answer in the wink of an eye to a T.

All credit to the machine fingerprints all over the map spreading wings far and wide oversimplifying the onerous task in every field, prompting to redefine ‘’Jack the dull boy’’ with no work, all day immobile play.

Hmm…… Isn’t slavery in the free connected world with no enemy prowling in sight?

Well, how can you manoeuvre to walk this tightrope muddle?

To be honest, the answer is not easy and it’s far-fetched. You cannot turn the clock but the only solace to sustain in the island of machine world is to create your own oasis of happiness.

All I can say is go with the flow. Chin up!

P.S Lately, the Daddy of ‘’Jack the dull boy’’ had revisited the artefact collection, trying to revive the past glory.

Where can I get second hand geared cycle for my couch potato son? No! Then dial up my fidus Achates, Topjit Seram to grab some novel from Daryaganj, internet se kuidouri (blackout of internet will drag on).