Today I chose to cut my walk short instead of arriving to Granada. There was an albergue 13 Km away which allowed me to divide Granada's 45Km into a reasonable walk. After showering and putting my clothes into the washing machine I went down to the bar for lunch. There I found an old frenchman pilgrim having lunch whom I met yesterday at the albergue. I asked him if it was OK to sit down with him. He said yes, and motioned me to put his backpack down because it was occupying the seat where I was going to sit down. I noticed its heaviness.
In broken English we exchanged some life experience. What is/was your career? I had two careers, one as a computer programmer, and the other as the owner of a camping site. I like nature, so I left Paris for the country side. Oh, you were a programmer! What languages did you use? Cobol, and then Fortran, on computers the size of a house. Wow, how long ago was that? I started in the late sixties. My jaw dropped, how old are you? 90 years of age. Wow! Who did you work for? A bank, on insurance risk. I wish I could have gone deeper into conversation with him, but language was a barrier. He was headed towards Santiago, more than 1,000Km away. He had already walked four caminos and started at age 85. "This time I find myself more tired than before, it might be my age" he said with a smile.
We came back to the albergue and I had a nap. When I woke up the retired police officer raved about him: "He types on his phone with two thumbs! He's going up and down the stairs like it's nothing!". He doesn't look young, which leads you to underestimate his strength and mental sharpness. "It's the sharpness I envy the most" the retired police officer said. "My older brothers refuse to even try using a phone—for what? they say, we've made it to this age without needing it. Now I know what to tell them: for this! To be able to participate in a world that has transformed itself. They've been left behind and they don't know it".
I've been slow picking up on AI. It's most definitely another world-transformative technology, and I don't want to be left behind. This morning, when I decided the shorter walk, I was confabulating writing a short sci-fi story with the help of AI, since I would have free time. I would use AI because the scenarios I was imagining would require me to think and reason beyond my intelligence. However, when I arrived into town there was no internet. Project scrapped. At least I can still write without it.
I wonder: what will become of the generations raised on AI? Will using a GUI become the "new terminal"? Will they be amazed when I can make a reservation with something called "a browser"? Will they laugh when I whip out a keyboard because I find speaking to AI cumbersome? Will I be 90 years old walking the camino, and amaze someone with my primitive skills?