Automation, a curse or a blessing?

Dr. D.B.B. Rijsenbrij

7. Where will this lead to? previous articlenext article

Where will this lead to? This question is almost as old as humanity itself. Famous is the desperate question of two-thousand years: Quo vadis? The answer can only be: ‘To the Beginning’. The Beginning with which this discourse started. After all, all the processes in Creation are part of an eternal cycle: great circles and small circles. It is a matter of breathing out and breathing in. The same applies to Creation itself. The process of ‘automating’ can be seen as breathing out. It is the mechanisation of (business) processes by storing them in the computer, in the whole of the automated information provision, in fact. The (business) processes are engraved, so to speak, in the physical world. We used to do this in order to improve the efficiency; nowadays our goal is to record the (description of) the working of a company. This factual knowledge about the company – stored in what professionals call the technical infrastructure, the data infrastructure and the information systems – can be reused to renew the company, to re-create it, to adapt it to new product/market combinations.

This process – also called the process of ‘informatisation’ – is in fact like the process of breathing in. It is making use of the opportunities created by what has been stored about the company, possibly by means of new technological instruments, in order to achieve greater effectiveness. This in turn may lead to new or renewed business processes, which in many cases can only be realised with automated support. A small circle in an eternal game.

Creation is a game we are invited to join in. As long as we play by the rules, true joy will arise (the Catholics call it salvation). This is in fact the only objective of this creation. In this physical era, computers and automated solutions have become part of the game of Creation. This toy that we invented on the physical level, will give us true joy as long as we do not fall under its spell.

You may think it all sounds very simple thus far. But reality has to be simple. The true stature of man does not need any machines with any kind of mechanised intelligence. However, in its state of ignorance as to its true nature, humanity can use automation as a tool to free itself from the chains of ignorance step by step.

The first step in this process is to realise that we have been conditioned to such an extent that we have become locked up in a mechanical, automated prison. In stead of hearing the sound in the situation, we capture Creation in procedures, of which the processes are supported by computers. This first step of acknowledging the actual state we are in, is a very difficult one. Many of us think that we are in a process of upward evolution. After all, after cultivating our crops, taming the animals, mechanising physical labour and supporting our memory processes, we are now automating our own reasoning processes. Great progress is made in the field of artificial intelligence. If that is not evolution, what is?

What people are insufficiently aware of, however, is the fact that parallel to this so-called process of evolution, we continue to program, or condition, our minds to an increasing level. A process of degeneration leading to the mechanical execution of logic devoid of any emotion.

Technology has brought us into a new phase, in which optical possibilities have enriched communications, in which the exchange of simple data has been upgraded to the exchange of true-to-life descriptions of reality (multimedia applications). Gone astray in Creation towards this complex chaos, we now find ourselves at a crossroads. Will we use information technology to return to our true Self, or will we proceed into an even greater addiction to machines? An addiction that will eventually lead to complete servitude to machines in stead of true enjoyment of the game of Creation. And addiction is easier than remembering!

Fortunately, informatisation itself is already offering us the first few rays of hope. One of the current buzzwords in information technology is BPR: ‘Business Process Redesign’, the re-arrangement of business processes in a more natural way. It is finally dawning upon us that we must first work at reducing complexity, before we can deal with the supporting informatisation. I hope the next buzzword will be SPR: ‘Society Process Redesign’. Our society is curbed to such an extent by overly complex legislation and rules, that it can only be run by means of far-reaching automation.

It would be good to reduce the complexity of our society, not only from the perspective of automation, but also with an eye to the room for human development. IT professionals among us need not worry, for such a migration or conversion process will certainly need a great deal of automated support. There will be plenty of work left yet!

When returning to a more natural order of things, the key word is ‘moderation’17). Moderation or temperance is one of the central concepts with Plato; it is discussed extensively in the laws and in the state. Moderation or self-control is an important factor in systems development. It is also of essential importance in the application of information technology. An important cause of the chaos that was caused partly by information technology, is the fact that in this profession temperance seems to have been completely overlooked. The three main threats to moderation with respect to information technology are: greed for money (pursuit of profit through short-term successes), greed for knowledge and greed for power. Because of the great financial impact of information technology, greed for money prevents this young profession from developing in a well-balanced way. Greed for knowledge seduces us into creating databases which we often fill with all kinds of irrelevant data and that are sold for commercial purposes to boot. Greed for power, finally, makes us use the computer as a reliable servant with which to rule. Moreover, I have the feeling that the well-balanced development of the profession of automation is also hindered by the iron grip of advertisers. Every invention (4GL, case tools, object orientation, et cetera) is sold as being better and faster, before the invention in question has even reached full growth. This also distinguishes this profession from older, more established disciplines, such as that of technical engineers, for example.

Where will this lead to? As the ancient Greeks said: to the straight and narrow path up-hill, or to the wide road down-hill? And as you know, the road down-hill is easy, but it takes a conscious effort to go up-hill. IT professionals have the responsibility of finding the right moderation in their work. Moderation in what is offered, and thus also moderation in systems development. Temperance keeps conscience alert.

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website: Daan Rijsenbrij