Documentation The Machine - Celestin Albers

Dutch People Invented The Greatest
Technology Ever
While visiting my girlfriend in Berlin over New
Year's, I had the opportunity to meet many new
people. During these encounters, I frequently
found myself explaining the nature of my studies
and the details of my current project. I always
took the opportunity to ask people what
technology meant to them and whether they felt
they still had control over it.
One late evening at the KitKat Club, I met a guy
wearing a fox tail who, though quite drunk, made
a memorable remark: "Dutch people have invented
the greatest technology ever. Late at night
after going out, you can visit this magic wall
that will trade your coins for food."
This statement struck me as profound. Indeed,
the FEBO machine might be one of the greatest
Dutch inventions. However, aside from the
addition of wireless payments, the concept of
this particular vending machine has seen little
innovation.
This encounter sparked an idea: what if this
technology became sentient and developed a
hunger not just for coins, but for data? In
other words; what if the Enshitification process
came to take over this machine? Intrigued by
this speculative scenario, I began searching
second-hand marketplace websites and I found a
FEBO machine from a business that had closed
down. I reached out and successfully negotiated
a deal to acquire the vending machine.
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