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Computerization is an irresistible driving force in the modern world. For the past thirty years, computers have appeared in more areas, in more diverse uses. Massive amounts of time and money have been spent developing, purchasing, and implementing these systems. With the current hype over the Internet, institutions and ordinary people have made these investments, participating in the next "must have" phenomenon. This is being done in the name of progress. Thus, people can work smarter, faster, and better. At least, this is what the advertisers would like us to believe.
The process of computerization is rapidly changing society, at a pace faster than any other of the "revolutionary" technologies. (e.g. gunpowder, the printing press, the automobile, etc.) The microcomputer, the catalyst behind this advance, is barely twenty years old. In these twenty years, computers have appeared in many objects, from the coffee maker to the Boeing 767 flying overhead. A giant mythos has been created around the computer, a mythos of infallibility and genius. To the administrator or manager, there is a stereotype that, to find the answer, to make it better, buy the latest computer technology and plug it in. The computer advertisers have created this image; they depend on it to maintain the fantastic success the industry has had.
In reality, computerization is a two-edged sword, though few realize it. This is the problem. People need to be educated that computers aren't magical answers, but tools that can be broken, with catastrophic results. People also need to be educated that, like other tools, sometimes the computer isn't the best answer.
This is not meant as an attack on the usefulness of the computer. Computers do have the ability to improve time management, create better products, spread information further; indeed, this essay is being written by computer. What is meant is an attack on the blind faith that pervades many institutions that the computer is the ultimate, perfect tool, adaptable to any situation. Just grab the right software, the right hardware, and all your problems are solved.
However, computers can fail. Computers can't always solve problems. It is a little known fact outside of the CS community that no program can ever be certified as 100% reliable. Testing and other procedures can come close, but there is always a chance that a mistake has crept in, creating a ticking time bomb. The chance might be astronomically small, but there is a reason why safety-critical systems (like the Space Shuttle, or Darlington Nuclear Power Station) have computer backups.
Yet, even computer backups aren't perfect. Because of the inability of computer software to be 100% reliable, there is always a small chance of error. Manual overrides aren't the answer either, because of the type of applications the computer is used for. There is also the problem that, since people believe in the computer's "infallibility", people are willing to trust what the computers tell them, even if the data is plainly wrong. In this case, the failure is both in the computer, and that in the people are willing to trust the system blindly. A good example of this is the Dec 20th, 1995 crash of a 757 in Columbia; the pilots chose to believe the computer, even when other instruments were telling them that things were wrong. In this case, blind faith resulted in the loss of a plane and its passengers. [PGN] [FW] [NTSB]
Education is the only recourse available to avert this problem. Humanity can't turn back the clock on the computer age, nor should it wish to. Computers are rapidly becoming the heart and soul of society, being involved in power generation, financial transactions, traffic control, transport, entertainment, and a myriad of other uses. The computer has proven its usefulness time and time again, and abandoning computers entirely is not a solution.
What must be done is that computers must be used smartly. Systems should be analyzed careful as to whether computerization will actually enhance safety, or just add complexity. In some cases, the hard decision must be made to "buck the trend" and not computerize at all.
Computers can be powerful allies to humanity, but they should not be given powers that they do not have. They are useful, and offer powers beyond the human mind, but only if the human mind thinks of the implications of their use. It is this ignorance that poses the threat to our society.
[PGN] Risks Digest Vol. 18, Issue 38 - Friday August 23rd, 1996
Peter G. Neumann
http://catless.ncl.acl.uk/Risks/18.38.html
http://www.flightwatch.com/avi_news.htm
October 1st, 1996
http://www.ntsb.gov/Pressrel/961001.htm
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