AI knocking on my door

 

Call for submissions: MAINSPRINGS

Call for submissions

 

MAINSPRINGS

Tales of Typewriters in the Age of AI

 

edited by

Richard Polt and Andrew V. McFeaters

 

published by

Loose Dog Press

 

 

mainspring, n.: a typewriter’s reserve of potential energy, waiting to uncoil

 

 

Loose Dog Press’s COLD HARD TYPE series returns with a fresh topic that explores the technological frontier.

 

A new power has arrived like a tsunami: generative artificial intelligence, with its effects on everything from education to economy to environment. Are typewriters even more obsolete now, remnants of an ever more distant past? Or are they poised to offer surprising and essential services in this new age?

 

MAINSPRINGS invites contributions of short fiction, true stories, poetry, art, and photography. Contributors may explore synergies between typewriters and AI, conflicts between them, or creative and ambiguous encounters. 

 

Deadline for submissions: January 20, 2027

 

            Submit your work to Richard Polt by e-mail or post (see below). It will be reviewed by Polt (author of The Typewriter Revolution and Evertype) and English professor Andrew V. McFeaters.

            The maximum length for texts is 5000 words. At this stage, texts may be either digital or typewritten.

            Stories may be set in the present or the future; they may be realistic or fantastic, true or fictional. All genres, styles, and ideas are welcome, as long as both AI and a typewriter play some role in your creation. They may be intended for adults, but should not be pornographic or sadistic. As a rule of thumb, an effective story has interesting characters, a dramatic plot, and vivid sensory details. Avoid telling the reader about generalities; instead, show the reader concrete things and events. Good spelling, grammar, and punctuation also matter.

            Submissions of artwork and photos may include color cover images and grayscale interior images. Illustrations should fit the dimensions of the book’s pages, 6x9 inches. Resolution of digital images should be 300 dpi or better.

            You may use some AI to create your submission, as long as you disclose its role honestly and it serves an important artistic purpose. 

            We encourage you to find inspiration in previous volumes in the COLD HARD TYPE series.

 

Decision date: March 31, 2027

 

            The editors will either accept your work or reject it by this date. There will be no “revise and resubmit” judgments, although if your work is accepted, we may require some corrections or suggest some optional revisions. 

 

Deadline for finished, typewritten work: May 31, 2027

 

            All texts in the published book will be typewritten on real typewriters. This will require care and attention. Guidelines for typing will be sent to authors whose work is accepted. The finished typescript may be submitted on paper or as a scan.

 

Approximate publication date: August 1, 2027

 

            Around this time, the book will be available for purchase on Amazon as a print-on-demand volume. The book will contain no digital text, only images of typewriting. It will not be available as an e-book, only in print. The price will be as affordable as possible, and neither editors nor contributors will profit from the project. However, every contributor will receive a free copy of the published volume.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 

            Can you give me advice on a rough draft of my work? — No, sorry. We expect many submissions, so we will not be able to review anything but polished work that you consider ready for publication.

            May authors collaborate? — Yes.

            May I submit more than one piece? — Yes, but it is unlikely that we will be able to publish more than one.

            May I use a pseudonym or remain anonymous? — Yes.

            What about foreign-language or bilingual material? — The language for the collection is English, so submissions must be in good English, and any bits in other languages must also come with a translation, so that readers who do not know those languages can understand.

            Can work have been published previously? — Yes, but we do prefer contributions that are new or not well known. Any previously published material must follow any copyright conditions attached to the previous publication.

            May I republish my work later? — Yes. You will retain copyright on your work, and after the book is published, you may publish your work in other formats, noting that it first appeared in this collection.

            Do I have to type my own work on a typewriter?— Your initial submission does not have to be typewritten, but the final text does. If you are not confident enough in your typing abilities, let us know; we may be able to arrange a substitute typist for you.

            Will I be paid? — No. No contributors or editors will make any money from this project. We will profit in the form of joy, fun, and the satisfaction of contributing to the typewriter renaissance—and contributors will get a free copy of the book.

 

Send all questions and submissions to Richard Polt

at polt@xavier.edu, or

 

Richard Polt

Dept. of Philosophy

Xavier University

3800 Victory Pky.

Cincinnati, OH 45207-4443

USA

AI in 1988: a typewritten report

A few years ago, a typewriter came to me—a Smith-Corona electric portable, I believe—with a variety of papers inside the case. They included a brief report on artificial intelligence, written by Sharon T. in 1988. It's just a few pages long, but it offers an interesting glimpse of the state of the field at the time. I hadn't realized that neural networks were already a topic of intense interest then. Now, almost 40 years later, AI is finally realizing the promises people were making in the late '80s—for better or worse. For one thing, it can generate a report like this in seconds!

This report on cutting-edge computer technology was expertly typed on ... a typewriter. The irony is never acknowledged here, and Sharon may not even have realized it. In 1988, typewriters still hadn't been replaced by personal computers everywhere. That was the year when I got my own first computer (a Macintosh SE); until then, I'd been using my faithful 1937 Remington Noiseless 7. I believe Sharon was a high-school student: her research, grammar, and typing skills are excellent, but the report doesn't have the length or depth one would expect in a college paper. Plenty of high-schoolers in 1988 would live in homes without personal computers (or "microcomputers," as Sharon's class calls them).

Here is Sharon's report:

Here's a PDF of the report if you'd like to have it.

Keep your eyes on this blog for a major announcement about typewriters and AI!

Book review: The Complete Manufacturing Process of a Vintage Typewriter

The Complete Manufacturing Process of a Vintage Typewriter: Archival Engineering Reconstruction—1930–1938 is a 73-page book published in 2025 by Type Space in Portland, Oregon. 

Type Space is a beautiful shop and cultural center run by Antony Valoppi with the assistance of Mark Naylor. I recommend the engaging interview with Antony and Mark recently published by Austin Typewriter, Ink.

The concept of the book is exciting: let's look behind the walls of a typewriter factory in the 1930s, when most of the kinks of early typewriter experiments had been worked out and the production system was perfected. I personally love 1930s typewriters for their quality and appearance, so I was curious to know more.

The bibliography lists a dozen rare internal publications by Royal, Smith-Corona, and Underwood. (Remington is conspicuously absent, and factories outside the United States are not discussed.) These sound like invaluable sources for esoteric information, such as Royal's Escapement and Spacing Calibration Manual and Smith-Corona's Silent Mechanism Design Memorandum. Other items in the bibliography include technical books such as Pratt & Whitney's Precision Milling and Jig Boring Equipment Specifications. 

On the basis of these publications, the book divides the manufacturing process into a dozen phases, from "material formulation" to "packing and shipping," with steps such as casting, type slug manufacture, and painting along the way.

Great concept, as I said. But an alarm bell rings on the copyright page: "Interior diagrams, technical reconstruction, and layout Ai assisted." 

There's nothing wrong with using AI for layout. But the "diagrams" ... oh dear. Do these look like real typewriter assembly views to you? 

Some of the text in these diagrams also strikes me as phony. Were typewriter manufacturers "performing QC test readout" in the '30s?

You may also have noticed that the cover is AI-generated: that looks like a Royal, kinda, but the details are all wrong (the ribbon is too fat, the return lever is not shaped like any return lever ever seen, and so on).

Maybe the reader is expected to understand that these illustrations are just for fun, or are meant as symbolic reminders rather than actual pictures. But they create suspicion and doubt, and sadly bring this book closer to slopbait videos and quick-buck pseudo-books that don't care that they include images of typewriters that never existed and never could. Those of us who do care about typewriters must be careful about misleading future generations who will have trouble distinguishing real pictures of typewriters from surreal pictures of invented machines.

What about using AI for "technical reconstruction"? What exactly does that mean? The inaccuracy of the AI-generated illustrations makes me nervous about the text. Very regrettably from this academic's point of view, the text contains no footnotes or other references that would tie it to particular pages in the original sources. So how can we trust a claim such as "Primer layers were baked at 275 ºF to form uniform adhesion substrates"? Did all typewriter factories, or the three companies listed in the bibliography, specify the same temperature in their painting methods? Maybe. How do we know? Sometimes the text does distinguish between processes used in different factories, but again, there are no citations of original sources.

The processes are often described in technical and scientific language that is beyond my layman's understanding. Example: "Bearing sleeves and rake bushings were machined from 60/40 Cu-Zn brass (UTS ≈ 290 Mpa), drawn through carbide dies and annealed at 752 ºF to maintain ductility." A three-page glossary at the back of the book does help me understand some terms, such as "MPa" (Megapascal, a unit of pressure). The specificity of this language tends to make it sound authoritative and factual, but again, the shadowy presence of AI raises doubts.

How much of this text was generated by AI? The worst-case scenario here is that an AI system was simply fed the original documents and instructed to spit out a book. I doubt it; I expect that Antony and/or Mark put work and research into this. But, once again, how do we know? Their names appear nowhere, and the text refers to itself in suspiciously abstract and passive language: "Detailed examinations are provided across all major production phases." 

In addition to the AI-generated illustrations, this book contains six patent illustrations. These are original drawings which are historically significant. But only two of them actually come from the period 1930-1938. What does Alvah Roebuck's 1918 patent for a paper finger have to do with typewriter factories in the 1930s? Most of these patent illustrations seem to have been selected simply for their visual charm, regardless of whether they pertain to the three big manufacturers of the '30s that are supposedly the focus of the book. But there are thousands upon thousands of patent illustrations from the 1930s that are easily available online and might have been selected to connect to the text.

Actual photos of the interior of 1930s typewriter factories are also available, and would have made excellent illustrations. Good sources would include house organs (internal company magazines) and news reports from the day. And people would appear in those photos! A more engaging book would show us some workers and describe their daily jobs. There might be some dramatic episodes: Remington workers, for instance, went on strike several times during the Depression, and the company took ruthless measures against the union.

A concluding statement on "industrial legacy & standardization" provides an effective overview of the achievements of the great typewriter factories. They were precisely planned, highly sophisticated enterprises that poured vast capital into the mass production of useful writing machines. 

I have to point out that a false statement slips in, though: "the rise of electric typewriters in the following decades would gradually reduce reliance on purely mechanical precision systems. Electrification ... reduced the need for finely balanced mechanical linkages." No: electric motors just turned a roller or shaft. Everything else was mechanical and needed at least as much precision as a manual typewriter. This includes the IBM Selectric, which is a legendary achievement of mechanical design. The statement in the book is correct only if applied to electronic typewriters, which came to predominate in the 1980s. Something like an IBM Wheelwriter requires far fewer parts than a Selectric, since many of the functions are controlled by chips instead of mechanical linkages. I say this as someone who is no engineer, but it's evident to anyone who has compared an electromechanical typewriter to an electronic one.

On the whole, this book is frustrating and disappointing. It's an excellent concept, but I wish I could have more confidence in its claims, and I'm hungry for real glimpses of actual typewriter factories.

Slopbait

These screenshots come from a YouTube video titled "10 Antique Typewriters in Your Attic Worth a Fortune! (Most People Don't Know What They Have)." The whole thing is AI-generated. It doesn't pretend to be anything else, but I still think it's deeply misleading. I expect a few newbies will watch this video and fail to realize that many of the machines shown on it are nothing but hallucinations.

Yes, I'd be happy to find any of these typewriters—if they existed!

The AI has gotten very good at creating texture, lighting, and parts of real typewriters, but the way they're put together is just statistically plausible fantasy. 

Unfortunately, it's very easy and cheap to generate something like this now, and hope for a little payoff. This video joins the AI-generated book about typewriter collecting whose "author" whines that "I’m just trying to feed these kids and my Pomeranian."

I think we need a new term for this kind of product. I propose slopbait.

 

Moltbook for typewriters

 

Automating life

Outstanding graphic artist Christoph Niemann recently published a textual/visual essay on AI art in the New York Times which is one of the most thoughtful, nuanced reflections I've seen on the topic. One of his points reminded me of this passage in The Typewriter Revolution: 

For a planet desperate for conservation, for a mind starved for concentration, inefficiency starts to look like nourishment and life. Maybe to save time is not to lengthen life, after all. Maybe the more efficiently you speed through life, the quicker you reach your death.

It’s not efficient to cook a meal from scratch. 

It’s not efficient to ride a bike down a country path. 

It’s not efficient to learn an instrument instead of downloading a song, or to sketch a landscape instead of pointing your smartphone at it. 

Why do we do inefficient things? Because sometimes we don’t want life to be seamless—we want to feel resistance, we want to take our time, we want to savor the experience. When what you’re doing isn’t just a means to end, you’re in no hurry to get it done. 

For the typewriter revolution, writing is one of those intrinsically valuable experiences.

Here is Niemann's reflection:

 

From Sketched Out by Christoph Niemann

Can a typewriter do this?

My decidedly anti-AI friends won't like this post and may wish to skip it.

As you may have noticed, I am very ambivalent about the technology. It seems to demean human creativity, burns through energy recklessly, enables new forms of deception and control ... but it also unleashes remarkable new avenues for a kind of creativity that collaborates with collective memory.

The best AI image generator, Midjourney, just released a video generation system that yields very impressive results. What's the next step? The company says:

... we believe the inevitable destination of this technology are models capable of real-time open-world simulations. 

What’s that? Basically; imagine an AI system that generates imagery in real-time. You can command it to move around in 3D space, the environments and characters also move, and you can interact with everything.

An old dream of creating a real dream, now becoming real.

You can make a video from an image you've uploaded or generated with a text prompt. The video can be extended (currently) up to four times in segments of a few seconds, generated either purely by the AI or in collaboration with your instructions. This gives ordinary mortals the power to assemble a little movie that illustrates their ideas.

Here's a mini-film I made. I wanted to start with a creepy atmosphere. My prompt for an image was:

A scene inspired by a story from the bizarre cult classic The King in Yellow. A small deformed man secretly controls the actions of distant victims. This is a retro vision of a bygone future. The style of the scene is low-saturation, low contrast, sickly colors, inspiring an undefinable anxiety.

Midjourney generates results in sets of four, so you can select the one you like best (or start all over again). I picked this one.

But it didn't feel just right, so I asked the AI to create variations on the image, and I selected this one.

Then I used it as the basis for assembling this video:

We've entered a new era, for better and worse.

So, to get back to the official theme of this blog: Can a typewriter do this?

No.

However, there are at least two interesting possibilities for high-low-tech collaboration here. 

1. Brainstorm at the typewriter, letting your words run free, until some sequences of visions appears in verbal form on the paper. Then give those words to the AI and see how it "imagines" them. Tweak the results until they satisfy you.

2. Start by making an AI video, then sit at the typewriter and describe it, finding the best words to evoke the specificities that have emerged in the film.

Whatever the evils of AI, I am sure that creative people in our community are going to find new forms of digital-analog interaction that will stimulate new thoughts and emotions.

Strike back in black & blood!

Yes, in an irony that is far from lost on its creator, this illustration was executed by AI.

Sean Bolli of Calgary has been experimenting with AI image generation, using it to create typewriter-themed pulp and comic-book illustrations that he's posted on his Instagram account. The technology is now so much more reliable and impressive than it was even last year. It can create images that concretize nearly anything we can put into words, adding the detail, precision, and aesthetic qualities that most of us are simply unable to create without digital help. Does this debase human effort? Or, with intelligent use, does it enhance our efforts? I wonder what you think.

I myself find Sean's idea here delightful, and I think the AI did an excellent job of realizing it. Using AI to question AI is very much in the spirit of the typewriter insurgency, which (as I interpret my own manifesto) doesn't turn its back on all digital technology, but challenges its supremacy and the assumption that it must be implemented everywhere.

Sean writes:

I have been finding fun in the use of AI as a way to explore imagination and storytelling—transforming ideas into visuals I couldn’t create on my own. While I believe in fair use and shared inspiration, I also believe AI tools must be held to higher ethical standards. Artists deserve transparency, consent, and respect for their work. Creativity should be expansive—but never careless. 

In short: I believe in creative freedom—with respect. I support innovation—with responsibility. And I pursue art—whether analog or AI—as an outlet for joy, storytelling, and connection.

This particular piece sort of sums up a bunch of things, the Typewriter Revolution, the emerging 'rebellion' against the digital and a thoughtful look 'back' on what this would have looked like from the past into the future, which is still the past for us today....if that makes sense.

Anyhow remember, like the AI says, 'PROGRESS IS PEACE'

Hurtling into posthumanism

Radical environmentalist and anarchist Edward Abbey enjoys a cigar next to his Royal KMG in this photo shared with me by Chris Osmond. I note a painting of Don Quixote over the typewriter.

Whatever you may think of Abbey's ideas, he spent year after year typing them on this machine that required no electricity but invited his brainpower. And he was a human being.

Now where are we going?

On May 18, the Chicago Sun-Times published this list of reading recommendations.

The novels sound great. Only problem: the first ten of them don't exist. At least, they didn't on May 18. I bet that since then, people have prompted AI to generate them, as it generated this list.

Meanwhile, I was shown this ad on Instagram.

What is saddest? That we are suffering from a loneliness epidemic? That the creators expect us to be so gullible that we will be consoled by a "90% Human-like" simulacrum? Or that, perhaps, they are right?

We seem to be hurtling into a world where human effort and imagination no longer make any difference, where what matters is how machines calculate patterns in the massive stock of recorded information. It will require trillions of dollars and countless gigawatts, but those with the money and power are sure that it is the inevitable next step. Edward Abbey is rolling in his grave.

But I am sure of one thing: not everyone wants this future. This semester, most of my students chose to write their daily reflections by hand. The four young women at one table all told me that they use flip phones. A quixotic insurgency is afoot. One form it can take is sitting at our typewriters, drawing on our own memories and thoughts, creating ... and connecting with like-minded humans who reject the authority of our powerful, yet mindless new overlords.

Why we need typewriters in 2025

 

Typing a Resistance

A book about typewriters ... created by AI?

Oh, cool, look what I just found on Amazon. It seems that another typewriter collector has spent countless hours distilling his first-hand experience of writing machines into a helpful guide. I must add it to my library!

But wait ... a five-bank portable whose keys are marked with smeary squiggles? What's with that withered rubber return lever on a tiny stem? Yep, it's an AI-generated picture, and not a good one, either.

That looks like a real Woodstock on the back. But what's this? The text talks about "the fascinating world of antique maps"!

The book description on the Amazon listing is more pertinent, but it provides a different title:

Step back in time and immerse yourself in the world of vintage typewriters—a world where every keystroke carried the weight of history, and every machine told a story.

"The Timeless Legacy of Typewriters" is the ultimate guide for collectors, enthusiasts, and anyone captivated by the charm and craftsmanship of these iconic machines. From the birth of the typewriter in the 19th century to its resurgence in today’s digital age, this book offers a comprehensive exploration of the typewriter’s evolution, cultural impact, and enduring appeal.

Discover the most iconic models and the innovators behind them, learn the secrets of typewriter mechanics, and master the art of restoration and preservation. Whether you're a seasoned collector or just beginning your journey, this book provides invaluable insights and practical tips to help you build and care for your collection.

But this book is more than just a guide—it's a celebration of the analog experience in a digital world. You'll reconnect with the tactile pleasures of typing on a vintage machine, explore the vibrant typewriter community, and find inspiration in the timeless legacy of these remarkable tools.

With its beautifully designed cover and rich, engaging content, "The Timeless Legacy of Typewriters"is a must-have for anyone who appreciates the artistry, history, and nostalgic allure of typewriters. Whether you're looking to expand your collection, deepen your knowledge, or simply enjoy the stories behind these machines, this book is your key to unlocking the world of vintage typewriters.

Join the movement. Embrace the legacy. Start your journey today.

"Beautifully designed cover"? This is amusing. And doesn't the whole text sound ... stereotyped?

As we research Neal Parker, we find that he's also offering books about collecting keys, cameras, and yes, antique maps. The pictures on the covers of all these books are peculiar. 

How exactly would those curlicues open a lock?

What a fascinating jumble of nameless cameras with enigmatic parts.

Seems this cartographer was into his cups when he tried to draw those lines of longitude and latitude.

Every book offered by Mr. Parker comes with some five-star reviews. When I check out those reviewers, I find that they've posted many fawning reviews (example 1, example 2). Real people with no critical judgment? Real people who are making a few pennies as shills? Bots? Who knows. 

The Amazon book-reviewing system is breaking. So is the system on Goodreads, which is owned by Amazon. I was recently invited to join Shepherd, an independent site that offers book recommendations by actual human authors. I'll keep you posted on that.

But some genuine readers have purchased and read Neal Parker's books. They post reviews like this:

One area where I really felt it would have benefited from more, especially due to the nature of the topic, is imagery. The book has zero so if you need examples to be able to understand some of the concepts that are being explained, you're not going to get those here.

This book is really more of a list of tips for the amateur picker. It was lacking in pictures of the actual cameras though, except for the cover photo.

The book has a lot of useful info, but the writing feels a bit flat, almost like an AI wrote it. I was really hoping for some pictures of the cool cameras mentioned to make it more engaging. 

So, I wanted to like this book, but it reads like it was written by ChatGPT. No real personality. Plus I was really hoping for images of the cameras to go along with the text.

I'm not about to pay for one of these volumes, and opinions about whether prose was generated by AI can't be 100% certain, so I won't make any claims about the prolific Mr. Parker. I invite you to judge for yourself.

But I'll say this: these days, anyone can spend a few minutes and zero dollars to create a book, and with a little more time and trouble (but at no cost) you can offer it for sale on Amazon for, say, $8.99. You don't even have to read your "own" book before you start raking in the bucks.

Hey, I think I'll "write" a book about collecting radios! ... 

It took me about two minutes to generate a cover on Midjourney. I used the prompt "book cover for a book about collectible radios, photo showing a variety of collectible antique radios, with title at top 'Radio Collecting' and author name at bottom 'Richard Polt'"; then I selected the best image.

ChatGPT gave me the following blurb in seconds in response to the prompt "Write a one-paragraph promotional blurb for a book about collecting radios":

Discovering the World Through Radios: A Collector's Journey is the ultimate guide for enthusiasts and newcomers alike who are captivated by the charm of vintage and modern radios. From the crackling transmissions of early crystal sets to the sleek designs of mid-century transistor models, this book explores the history, artistry, and engineering behind iconic devices that connected the world. Packed with stunning photographs, expert tips on finding and restoring rare radios, and stories from passionate collectors, this book is both a celebration and a practical resource. Whether you're a seasoned hobbyist or just tuning in to the world of radio collecting, this book will inspire you to explore the airwaves and treasure the devices that made them accessible.

Generating a book-length text wouldn't take long, I'm sure, though I've never done that.

We are all going to have to develop better judgment and mindfulness as a tsunami of AI slop rushes at us—just as humanistic education is under assault for being "impractical." O tempora, o mores.*

* Here's a Wikipedia article on this phrase. (How long before Wikipedia, a rare island of responsible collaboration on the Internet, is also overwhelmed by slop?)

Note from an educational institution under siege