For subscribers

Broken pottery, vinyl records and why I continue to resist AI

In the supposedly error-free new world, some inefficiencies and flaws remind us what it is like to be human.

Creating something imperfect is a comforting reminder of our humanity, says the writer.

PHOTO: ROKU KYOTO

Leslie Koh

When

digital cameras first came on the scene around 2000,

I hesitated to make the switch. Having relied on the decades-old, tried-and-tested analogue technology of film cameras, I took my time before trusting my precious memories to be captured in bits and bytes instead of on film.

When I eventually did, however, I had to wonder what took me so long. Digital cameras displayed the results instantly, taking away the guesswork and eradicating the biggest fear of any amateur photographer – going back to the shop to discover, to one’s horror, that the entire roll of film had been incorrectly exposed.

See more on

AI/artificial intelligence

Digitalisation

Photography