Author: Donald A. Norman
This Chapter focuses on the relationship between machines and humans and the positive and negative aspects based on the complexity of the interaction. Communication between people and machines are completely different. Between people, you can reason, discuss, and have a two way conversation. Between a person and a machine, however, is quite different. While it is true that communication can be two way, it is not considered dialog because it is composed of two monologues. Communication between human's and machine's is constantly being researched and developed for various reasons. Usually, it is for some convenience or possibly even to make something safer. But as the complexity of the interaction increases, there can be some unforeseeable side effects. An example given in the paper of a car that in which the cruise control is set and then forgot about. The reason it was forgotten is because the car automatically speeds up and slows down based on traffic it sees in front of it. Since the traffic was bad, the car was going slow but as soon as the passenger got of the highway and onto the access road, the car started to speed back up to the highway speed. If the driver wasn't paying attention, this could have easily resulted in a wreck. This happens because machines and computers are programmed to think logically. They cannot reason and thus cannot account for all of the variables. That is why researchers are looking into better ways for humans and machines to communicate.
This paper is extremely relevant to the future of the complexity of machines. I have often thought about, from an ethics standpoint, the relationship between man and machine. The liability aspect is an interesting to look at especially from persons standpoint. Some of the luxury cars are now breaking for the driver if he is not paying attention. However, if for some reason the system doesn't stop in time, it is still the driver's fault for rear ending the car in front of him. I don't think I would ever willingly pay for some automated feature that didn't take the liability off of me as the driver. I feel like I would be lulled into a false sense of security and therefore not pay as much attention to driving if i had all of these autonomous features in my vehicle. There are other situations where automation is wonderful but just like all conveniences, there is an upside as well as a downside.
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