Commentary on David Wiley's post from yesterday. On automation, Terry Anderson asks, "how many people would prefer to use a human teller at a bank – especially one with a long linup in front of it, compared to using an ATM." Imagine, though, the ATM being required to support all banking functions, not only simple withdrawals, deposits and fund transfers. And that the interface had to support all these functions. And where a human teller was not available as a back-up. Automation is tricky - I support automation, but emphasize the need for simplicity, the need for flexibility, the need for choice. If the task is, as Albert Ip suggests, merely "delivering instructions," then a machine can do this just fine. But learning is often so much more than that, and to replace fine-grained interaction with a series of instruction is deeply misguided - and that is why David Wiley rants.
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