Dependability

What might be some reasons for this paradox? We give some possibilities for this paradox of productivity in what follows. We will first look at the computer itself as part of the problem. Then we’ll talk a bit about how it is we humans think or work on problems in contrast to the ways the computer works. Perhaps we expect too much from the computer. We expect it to think like us, only faster (and more productively), yet this expectation may not be correct. As the reader might already have guessed based on examples given earlier, inefficiencies of the systems within which a high-speed device such as the computer or jet must function, may be part of the productivity problem. Often, there is too much focus on the design of the device and not enough on the supporting system—for example, on inventory control requirements or or air traffic control systems able to cope efficiently with poor weather. In fact, even when focusing on the device you’ll see that we can’t help but get into the system surrounding the computer. The two, computer and system, are interrelated. This is particularly true when humans and machines interact as they necessarily do in the computerized world.

Also, we’ll ask some questions that border on the philosophical. What really is human knowledge and how can it be manipulated (if at all) within a computer? Along the way questions are raised about how all this might be viewed within a Reformed, Christian perspective. We have done some of that already in mentioning the necessity for human-machine harmony in systems that involve the computer. This harmony is, at bottom, based on seeking the best in both persons and machines in a way intended by our Creator.

First then, let’s focus on the device, the computer itself. How productive is it? Does it really deliver as promised? This question could be focused along software and hardware lines. For the most part, experience has shown that computer hardware is quite robust, although it is not unusual to replace a hard drive or a central processor board on occasion. The assumption, however, is that computer technology on the hardware side is relatively reliable. Yet when computers don’t work, one is never sure what is at fault. A Northwest Airlines Airbus (whose flight controls are computer driven) was once delayed in Minneapolis because one of the two—exactly the same—flight computer systems was down (the writer was there). The plane landed fine but could not legally fly on to Edmonton, Alberta, with only one system. This need for redundancy in computer systems (both hardware and software) does lend credence to the idea that they are not comfortably reliable. Another value or norm for technological design is dependability. This can include students getting to class on time after vacation, but it also requires that devices themselves be dependable.