{"text":[[{"start":5.3,"text":"Lonely caffeine addicts are looking for face-to-face encounters and Starbucks is giving its coffee houses an “uplift” to attract them. Enthusiasm for analogue photography is increasing, such that Kodak, driven into bankruptcy 14 years ago, has a backlog of orders for roll film. Twenty-somethings are petitioning for the return of the BlackBerry and extolling the slow pleasures of vinyl records, handwritten notes, and in-person hobbies from cookery to crafting. Welcome to what some call friction-maxxing."}],[{"start":36.58,"text":"The trend is in part a gentle rebellion against the tap-and-scroll ease of modern online life. Innovators’ dream of clearing obstacles that slow down everyday actions is reaching its apotheosis, helped by the ubiquity of smartphones and the rise of AI. But rather than rushing down the fastest, smoothest route to their destination, friction-maxxers are choosing the long way round and lingering when they arrive."}],[{"start":61.16,"text":"Many of the joys of friction are open only to those who can afford the analogue alternatives — buying expensive LP records, for instance, rather than opting for seamless Spotify downloads. The slower scenic detour is closed to those for whom time is money, such as hard-pressed Uber drivers or food-delivery couriers."}],[{"start":80.4,"text":"The return of some types of friction would be unwelcome. Few would abandon the ease of online banking or one-click ecommerce completely. The FT welcomes a new generation to the joys of reading a broadsheet newspaper in print, but is less enthused by the baffling revival of cassette tapes and the prospect of again having to rescue mangled magnetic tape from inside players."}],[{"start":102.42,"text":"Friction-maxxing is not just a status-seeking retro fad, however. There are serious advantages to maintaining some resistance in electronic processes. Systems engineer Guru Madhavan points out that without friction, users can lack important feedback. Inventors raced to introduce fly-by-wire controls in aircraft, for instance, but then had to reverse-engineer some friction into their innovation because the elimination of joystick vibration meant pilots could no longer “feel” when their plane was about to stall. Recklessly flattening all regulatory hurdles could clear a fast track to financial crisis. Even the pioneers of AI are advocating “pacing the frontier” to superintelligence to reduce doomsday risks. Slower can be safer."}],[{"start":148.34,"text":"Friction-filled methods offer other benefits. Mental and physical muscles conditioned by pushing against obstacles can be used to meet other challenges. The boredom sometimes involved in choosing slower methods can yield inspiration. Writing notes by hand reinforces memory, in a way that asking AI to summarise a meeting or a lecture does not. Moreover, a return to physical books, photographs or compact discs puts ownership of those objects in the hands of users, rather than allowing billionaires to grant conditional online access to our images, literature and music in the cloud."}],[{"start":182.6,"text":"Nobody should have to point out the obvious returns on the effort needed to cook a meal for, attend a live performance with, or make love to, another human being. Yet this, apparently, is the lonely and isolating online world in which many now live. Starbucks’ effort to “double down on human connection and customer service”, adding more seats, hardback books, houseplants and rugs, is creditable. But in one FT image of the chain’s “uplifted” cafés, customers are not reading hardbacks or chatting to each other; they are sitting hunched over their mobile phones."}],[{"start":216,"text":"Friction’s advocates face an uphill struggle, in other words. But that is no reason not to take the first steps. The view from the top can be wonderful and you will be fitter for trying to get there. Take your time."}],[{"start":228.16,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1789781113_9798.mp3"}