Amberley Museum in West Sussex is turning back the clock, and looking ahead to the future, by connecting a classic telex machine from 1974 to modern artificial intelligence.
Visitors can now type questions using the museum’s old telex machine and get instant answers printed straight from ChatGPT, the world-famous AI chatbot. It’s a creative project that mixes old-school communication with today’s technology.
The museum, known for celebrating the history of technology, says this innovation was made possible by volunteer David Waters, who rebuilt the machine and found a clever way to link it to AI. Instead of sending messages to another person, the machine now passes them to ChatGPT, which replies with a printed response.
A spokesperson explained,
The experience starts when you use the rotary dial to make the connection. It’s a meeting between two worlds, fifty years apart
Museum staff say visitors are loving the chance to talk to an AI through such a vintage device. Some guests have called it “a conversation across decades”.
This reminds people of how far communication has come, from old telex systems to today’s smart machines. The project is also bringing ideas about the future of museums and how they can use technology to bring history to life for young people.
Amberley Museum hopes to keep blending past and present, showing that vintage tech can still inspire and connect with today’s digital age.
