Automation Links

• Paper: On People and Computers in Joint Cognitive Systems at Work
  • A system is comprised of the people and machines
  • Automation is limited in what it can perceive (imperfect context)
  • Automation acts based on the information it has
  • People have context but are also limited in what they know and local goals

We have to break the fixation on autonomy of automation, and realize that we should instead frame automation as ways to improve perception and action. They improve our capacity, scope, activities, precision, forces, and indirect actions on the world.

Any increase of autonomy requires an increase of observability and feedback, especially in communicating future intent. Ignoring this increases the chance of coordination surprises.