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The paper computer

jsomers.net

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Re: The paper computer

#31

Post by metaketa »

smj-edison wrote: post #9
charlieboardman wrote: post #7

Receive email, render page with the email and a reply section and a unique ID, print it out physically Human picks up all the sheets out of the printer, writes out replies with pen Human puts the stack of answered email sheets in a multi-page scanner Scanner physically scans them, agent transcribes them and matches them back to the incoming emails via the unique ID on each sheet, sends replies You could adjust this f…

I will say scanners are somewhat unergonomic, but if you had a high enough definition camera, you could photograph the document in its "natural environment". Granted, it's harder to get an evenly lit picture that way, but I think it's a nicer interface.

This is fixed by using anoto paper and a supporting pen!

Re: The paper computer

#32

Post by cjs_ac »

> Now that we have actually good AI, I have this vision of a form of computing that doesn’t involve me using a computer so much. Imagine you had the day’s emails to go through. It would be nice if the ones that required a simple decision could be dispatched with a few pen-strokes: I could write down a date that would work for that meeting; check a box to accept that invitation; etc.

This reminds me of those predictions from 1900 about the year 2000, when they thought we'd all live in enormous skyscrapers and get around by flying cars. Instead we moved out to suburbs because improved logistics systems meant we could buy things from suburban shopping centres rather than having to go into city centres. Revolution, not evolution.

Surely the real advantage of an 'actually good AI' would be getting the AI to do the work itself, rather than just allowing the work to be done in a format with which the human is more comfortable. The underlying problem is that there are too many things vying for our attention.

Re: The paper computer

#34

Post by nunodonato »

pugio wrote: post #14

Paper Computing (great name!) is something I've been thinking about a lot to help my kids benefit from tech without exposing them to the brain melting addiction of screens. I sacrificed a few crazy nights of sleep to try to build a Paper Computer Agent prototype for a recent Gemini hackathon (only to disappointingly have submission issues right before the actual deadline) which my kids loved and keep asking me to set…

this is really cool, I'd love to use something like this for my kids too. Maybe I'll try your project when I have some more free time. Would love to contribute but i'm not very skilled in python.

If you don't mind me asking, what hardware did you use? Especially for the project, I'm guessing it needs to have quite a strong bulb in order to be seen in broad daylight?

Re: The paper computer

#35

Post by throwthrowuknow »

Unfortunately, I don’t this will work until we have robot secretaries that can automate updating paper wall calendars and documents and books scattered around a room.

The only compromise would be a limited area like a physical desktop that had affordances like an overhead camera and some form of paper output.

Re: The paper computer

#36

Post by grvbck »

charlieboardman wrote: post #7

Receive email, render page with the email and a reply section and a unique ID, print it out physically Human picks up all the sheets out of the printer, writes out replies with pen Human puts the stack of answered email sheets in a multi-page scanner Scanner physically scans them, agent transcribes them and matches them back to the incoming emails via the unique ID on each sheet, sends replies You could adjust this f…

On one of my first qualified jobs, my manager (a lovely older lady) did exactly this. All incoming emails were printed and put into a binder. Then she would go home, write an answer with a pen on the back side of every single one, and on the next day write a new email to the recipient. 10-15 % of all emails she sent this way would bounce because she had written the address incorrectly.

When I showed her the reply button in Eudora (this was in 2001), she was so happy that she bought me a cake.

She struggled with IT but was tack sharp otherwise. So far she's the only boss I've ever really liked.

Re: The paper computer

#37

Post by xeyownt »

Since I have a laptop, I threw away all paper support, focusing on the keyboard as primary information interface.

Using paper and space to organize ideas is nice, but that's a niche use-case. And in any case, you'll have to digitalize it anyway afterwards, so better start on the digital version immediately, and be good at it. Everytime I start a new project, I'm tempted to take a pencil and paper, but then I refrain and use draw.io or the like because I know it will be winning on the longer run.

For the rest, you can easily customize your phone / browser / anything to be less distracting.

As for using AI just for convenience, this looks like very expensive in terms of resource.

Re: The paper computer

#38

Post by thenthenthen »

xeyownt wrote: post #37

Since I have a laptop, I threw away all paper support, focusing on the keyboard as primary information interface. Using paper and space to organize ideas is nice, but that's a niche use-case. And in any case, you'll have to digitalize it anyway afterwards, so better start on the digital version immediately, and be good at it. Everytime I start a new project, I'm tempted to take a pencil and paper, but then I refrain…

When dealing with humans irl, I try to stick to paper interfaces (note books etc). I feels super distracted/anti social when I am taking notes on my computer or phone.

Re: The paper computer

#39

Post by mmasu »

pugio wrote: post #14

Paper Computing (great name!) is something I've been thinking about a lot to help my kids benefit from tech without exposing them to the brain melting addiction of screens. I sacrificed a few crazy nights of sleep to try to build a Paper Computer Agent prototype for a recent Gemini hackathon (only to disappointingly have submission issues right before the actual deadline) which my kids loved and keep asking me to set…

this is such a great idea! well done

Re: The paper computer

#40

Post by haaz »

The best way to predict the future is to look at the past. Humans have been living and working in the 3-D world since the dawn of time, we’ve worked with paper for thousands of years, we’ve only been working at screens for about 40 years. Technology to remove technology, such as this, is brilliant.
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