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Samuel Arbesman

Ideas
01.26.2021 08:00 AM

I Love Reading 1980s Computer Magazines, and So Should You

It's not just a nostalgia thing. Sifting through the past often leads
to something new. 

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Collage of images with a Macworld cover.
Illustration: WIRED; Getty Images

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Imagine walking into a greeting card store to get a bespoke bit of
poetry, written just for you by a computer. It's not such a wild
idea, given the recent development of AI-powered language models such
as GPT-3. But the product I'm describing isn't new at all. Called
Magical Poet, it was installed on early Macintosh computers and
deployed in retail settings nationwide all the way back in 1985.

Samuel Arbesman is Scientist in Residence at Lux Capital, and the
author of The Half-Life of Facts and Overcomplicated.

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