Country Living with Francis Farragher

The other night, there was a measured chat going on in the usual place, about a device which would cook foods in double quick time . . . and no it wasn’t a microwave or an air fryer, and a couple of us came to the conclusion that this lad was doting a bit.

He couldn’t think of the name of this device so in my own tinpot way Google was contacted via my iPhone and sure enough it came up with the answer – an induction hob – something that I had never heard of.

For the record, it’s an electric cooktop which consists of a copper coil under a ceramic or glass surface that uses electromagnetic waves to hurry up the cooking process . . . now that’s some mouthful.

My confirmation of the existence of such a device reassured both the storyteller and the listeners that we were still of sound mind, and he paid tribute to my ‘electronic wizardry’ at being able to find out the information in less than a minute.

All I could do is make a wry smile because in the ever-changing world of gadgetry and electronic advancements, I would be considered to be very much at the back of the class, compared to my younger whizz kids both at work and at home.

I’ve escaped being branded with the Luddite title which applies to an ever dwindling section of the population who oppose all advancements in new technology, although it’s a word that I have a kind of historical interest in.

Legend has it that Ned Ludd was a weaver in the late 1700s who allegedly smashed up two knitting frames which threatened the traditional hand methods. The Luddite movement. firmly, and often violently, opposed the introduction of new machines in the production of garments, destroying many of them, and were involved in the assassination of a mill owner which led to the hanging of the three perpetrators of the act.

Well, on the basis that I’m not a Luddite – at least not a fully qualified one – I’m still somewhat baffled by the whole concept of artificial intelligence or AI and am tempted to ask the rather stupid question of: “Who’s the boss of AI?”, knowing full well that there’s no chance of an answer to that, unless of course you google AI.