06-21-2024, 09:27 PM
As Kalli spoke, Niels found himself nodding in agreement with her assessment. The anthropomorphization of tools was a subject he hadn’t given much thought to until recently. His encounter with the holograms aboard the mining facility had not only introduced him to the topic, but also given him some strong opinions.
Niels’ took a more serious tone as he spoke. “With regards to these sorts of devices, I am open to innovation as long as it is done in a safe and controlled manner. Given the results of our prior mission, I could probably talk for some time on the hazards of lifelike interfaces for complex systems. However, it’s been my experience that the user is often one of the biggest sources of problems in any given interaction with technology. It’s the reason we have redundant safeguards and maintenance lockouts, to prevent people from messing up.”
“Personally,” Niels continued, “I’d take simple interfaces that make it painfully clear what functions are being performed and what data has been collected over so-called ‘natural user interfaces’ any day. I don’t need personality with my readouts, just cold, hard facts. While these types of interfaces make it easier to interact with complex systems, it also makes it easier for people to inject their own biases into the mix. The last thing I need is a cut-rate engineer putting everyone’s lives in danger because they thought they knew better than the computer.”
Niels sighed and shifted in his chair as he realized how his words may be taken.
“Sorry, I wasn’t referring to you. A couple of the people working at the mining facility we visited in our last mission decided to alter their old Mark 1 holograms. They clearly had no idea what they were doing and were in over their heads. The holograms even told them as much. But they kept on with their alterations and ultimately ended up endangering the lives of both their crew and our away team when the holograms gained full control of all the mine’s systems. But I digress”
Taking a sip of his coffee, Niels paused, before adding. “I’ll work you into the lab schedule and would be more than happy to review anything you’re working on.”
== Tag ==
Niels’ took a more serious tone as he spoke. “With regards to these sorts of devices, I am open to innovation as long as it is done in a safe and controlled manner. Given the results of our prior mission, I could probably talk for some time on the hazards of lifelike interfaces for complex systems. However, it’s been my experience that the user is often one of the biggest sources of problems in any given interaction with technology. It’s the reason we have redundant safeguards and maintenance lockouts, to prevent people from messing up.”
“Personally,” Niels continued, “I’d take simple interfaces that make it painfully clear what functions are being performed and what data has been collected over so-called ‘natural user interfaces’ any day. I don’t need personality with my readouts, just cold, hard facts. While these types of interfaces make it easier to interact with complex systems, it also makes it easier for people to inject their own biases into the mix. The last thing I need is a cut-rate engineer putting everyone’s lives in danger because they thought they knew better than the computer.”
Niels sighed and shifted in his chair as he realized how his words may be taken.
“Sorry, I wasn’t referring to you. A couple of the people working at the mining facility we visited in our last mission decided to alter their old Mark 1 holograms. They clearly had no idea what they were doing and were in over their heads. The holograms even told them as much. But they kept on with their alterations and ultimately ended up endangering the lives of both their crew and our away team when the holograms gained full control of all the mine’s systems. But I digress”
Taking a sip of his coffee, Niels paused, before adding. “I’ll work you into the lab schedule and would be more than happy to review anything you’re working on.”
== Tag ==