Reading Response 1- Man-Computer Symbiosis reading
Prompt- “The last part of the essay is about the Prerequisites for Realization of Man-Computer Symbiosis. Linklider lists several things that need to happen in order for symbiosis to occur. Go through the list and for each requirement speak briefly (a paragraph) about each one with respect to where technology is now, 45 years later. Have we reached a point where the issue is no longer a problem? Are there things still being developed along these lines? Knowing how we relate to digital devices today, are any of these prerequisites unnecessary? At the end of the list, Do you have any additional items you would add?”
Response- In his article, “Man-Computer Symbiosis,” Licklider describes many points that act as barriers to true symbiosis between man and machine. While in some of these departments we have achieved a semblance of the ideals that Licklider sets forth, the majority of the barriers to man-computer symbiosis remain. We have a long way to go as a species before we can achieve true symbiosis with machines.
The first barrier to be overcome for man-computer symbiosis to be a reality is the speed mismatch between man and machine. Licklider mentions that computing is too fast and too costly, and would require some form of “thinking center” of interconnected machines. This statement is very interesting, as part of this has become a reality, while part of it remains a stumbling block of sorts. The popularization of the Internet has made some of the ideas behind this a reality. People do indeed have some manner of “thinking center,” except it’s even better than Licklider expected; it’s in our homes and even accessible from the palms of our hands. The technology to enable this has also become much smaller than it seems Licklider anticipated. Unfortunately, this future he envisions seems to have an egalitarian, “knowledge for all” slant to it. While the world is working toward this, the almighty dollar has crept into this aspect of life as well, with the wealthy getting better, faster access to the Internet and the larger corporations being able to largely control the flow of information. In addition, computers have gotten even faster, widening the gap between human and computer processing speeds so far that we don’t think together as much as we have them do the thinking for us.
Licklider also mentions a revolution in memory storage is necessary for man and computer to interrelate co-operatively. Not only must computers have more powerful and flexible memory, Licklider mused, they must also be organized in an efficient manner. Once again, while we have managed to create larger and faster memories for our machines and highly organized data structures, we have failed to address the more important elements preventing us from working in unison. While we now have a ridiculous amount of storage space that can be accessed obscenely quickly, and many of Licklider’s ideas about indexing have been somewhat integrated into the storage as well, in many cases allowing for near-instantaneous retrieval of information. Unfortunately, none of this is permanent. While data now has a near infinite amount of storage space, it has a very uncertain shelf life. We have been, thus far, unable to create any kind of permanent datastore that doesn’t involve some massive network of failsafes. Additionally, all data can be edited by someone with the right permissions or motivation. The result is a world where the truth and facts are mutable concepts determined by interested parties.
The organization of information could also use some work. Within certain spheres of influence – websites, search engines and the like – huge swaths of information are accessible in minutes if not seconds with only a minimal amount of technical knowledge required to do so. However, once you move outside these spheres of influence, the information becomes woefully difficult to find. This problem is compounded by the fact that the most powerful and useful of these sources are inaccessible to the layman. For instance, these days all but the meanest of computing equipment can access the Internet and therefore a large variety of legal search engines. With a few keystrokes, you can pull up massive amounts of related cases and law regarding whatever you desire. However, these search engines are so expensive that only students and law firms can use them regularly, and the latter must do so sparingly. I’m not sure exactly what Licklider had in mind, but I feel like restricted access to something as important as the law wouldn’t be something he’d agree with.
Licklider was also concerned that one of the larger barriers to computer symbiosis would be language. After all, computers and humans “think” completely differently, in completely different terms. This front, surprisingly enough, has seen some remarkable progress. With the advent of visual languages and programming interfaces, it has become much simpler and more intuitive for a human to program a computer. While we still need to specifically program the functions that we want the computer to carry out, it has become much easier conceptually for a person to do using packages like BASIC and Processing, by being able to use human terms and logic to write programs. While this task is much easier now than it was in the days of FORTRAN, it is still well beyond the means of the average person and having prior instruction or experience is absolutely essential to do so. This greatly limits the ways that people can communicate with computers as well as the portion of the population that can do so effectively. However, it isn’t out of the question for some amazing re-imagining of programming languages to come about and allow anyone to program with minimal training. Either that, or training will become so common that it isn’t an issue.
The final issue that Licklider mentioned concerning human computer symbiosis and the obstacles keeping it from happening was the issue of actually interfacing with the computer, input and output devices. Ten years ago, I would’ve said that this would possibly be the area where the least amount of progress was made, but the last few years in technology have yielded remarkable strides. Previously, the last big revolution in input/output was the mouse and there wasn’t really anything big on the horizon. Now, however, the human experience is finally able to be translated to computers, thanks to a plethora of amazing gadgets. We are on the cusp of being able to hold conversations with our computers as voice recognition and digital voice feedback and reading are now a reality. The concept of interfacing with a computer using a mouse as a pointing device has also been revolutionized with gesture recognition in everything from game controllers and to handheld phones using gyroscopes and touch screens. A prime example of how far input and output is coming is the Kinect from Microsoft. While the device isn’t perfect, it uses a camera and microphone to translate speech and movement into commands for video games and tasks for menu browsing and the like with surprising fidelity. While the other barriers to symbiosis may be relatively intact, input and output devices continued to be revolutionized daily.
Judging from the responses that humanity has made in regards to the issues facing computing and how computing has evolved, I think a few of these barriers no longer apply. Many of them have, in their current forms, been surmounted, and yet more issues continue to be generated. I would be so bold as to add another prerequisite to the list- a similar outlook. Computers, while they can’t exactly be classified as organisms or even anything farther than machines at this point, are admirable in that they have no guile or deception. They are completely unbiased and do exactly as they’re told, more or less. If they had thoughts or notions, they would probably view information pragmatically, as a thing to be exchanged as readily as possible for the overall good. While many people feel this way, the vast majority view information as something to be guarded, hidden, or even something to be bought and sold. The truth is more often than not a luxury, while in the world of machines it is expected. In order for the Internet and computing in general to truly advance to the point where we can successfully call ourselves symbiotic with computers, we have to change the way we view information. As long as information is profitable, people will seek to control it, and as long as people filter and control information there will be those who seek to suppress it. Without a more enlightened view on information, people will constantly be trying to limit how freely it spreads and therefore limit how openly we interface with computers, which thrive on the spread of data. Also, as long as people can control information, the idea of some kind of objective repository of knowledge is impossible. History has always been written by the victors in the past but there is no place for that concept when information can be exchanged in seconds across the globe. However, once something is written in the computer world, it can be altered. If the people who would seek to alter it were eliminated, that would cease to be an issue. Until then, people will instinctively distrust computers and the Internet because they fear being controlled by the things they read.