Gaining a technological advantage

Complex technology is difficult for the average human being to grasp; without some idea of what it is and how it works, it’s difficult to use effectively.

For example, the ubiquitous Microsoft Office offers great productivity features; such as macros, pivot tables and database connectivity. However once trained few office workers will ever use them. They can’t conceive of the situations in which these tools can be helpful: these problems are too hard.

By comparison a flint flake, or a modern steel knife, is readily understood: it’s sharp so you can cut things with it. What’s more, simple experimentation will show just about anyone how.

That’s the key: complex tools are designed for complex problems. So what if I’m only expecting the user to, well… use the tool, not solve the problem? Someone else will have to make the software, or the stone tool. There are two approaches to using technology to decouple humanity from the problem.

Simple interface.

Technology can be encapsulated to present the user with a simple interface.

In this case the user has little or no idea how the problem is solved, but is better aware of what can be done and how to instruct the device to do it. The field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) is focused on pursuing this approach.

The underlying technology may be capable of far more than the relatively simple interface is capable of communicating. Again, the human user is the limiting factor, but at least the design case problem has been solved by someone else.

Substitute the user.

The technology could be freed of dependence on human intervention.

Most examples of automation seek to do this, relying on relatively capable human minds to provide the programming framework.

This can be combined with weak artificial intelligence, so that the machine is capable of making minor decisions to overcome difficulties: for example the chess playing computer or robots capable of avoiding obstacles.

Dividing humanity.

Use of these approaches has been accelerating since the advent of industrialisation. Technological problem solving is really applied by an ever shrinking proportion of the humanity. The remainder are present as sentient regulators to check the machine does as the manual says it should.

Does this mean that the average skill level of the human race is actually falling, or just being placed into fewer hands and heads?