Not so sure that that is true.

You have to consider the backdrop/time as well - back then there was no BigTech(TM), there wasn't social media/the pervasive backdrop of everything you do with tech been monetised or commoditised.

Fundamentally you felt like when you bought a computer/OS/Software you were the customer not the product.

Your Commodore 64/BBC Micro didn't do everything it could to gather all your data for targeted advertising, there was no algorithm trying to keep you angry so you'd buy more copies of Crash magazine.

While there will be kids out there having a blast with AI, I suspect the whole experience is flavoured differently because of the world we built for those kids.

I’ve installed my AI on my local hardware (that I own!) and play around with it there. So there is less of the “I’m the product” feeling for me.

Of course, I’m not using fable or the latest top of the line AI but neither was that the case with the C64. After all, it wasn’t exactly a mainframe!

But certainly, today’s renter’s economy discourages tinkering with devices since these are either not owned or intended to be resold when newer devices come out, so shouldn’t be altered.