I want to start off by saying this article was definitely an interesting read, especially the beginning part about how planes are becoming more and more automated. After I was able to overcome my fear of flying I always felt safe in airplanes. Primarily because of the fact that I probably place too much trust in technology. But I also like to think that the pilots on the plane are trained professionals who at the end of the day want to land safely and make it home to their families. This article was eye opening to the fact that you are not always in control and the more you don’t practice your craft the worse you’ll inevitably become. As I was reading I was quickly reminded how when I did my cross country drive, there were stretches where I would do 80 mph for 300 some odd miles. So I would put on cruise control and for hours at a time my only input for the car would be little corrections on the steering wheel. In some way shape or form, I think we are all guilty in sometimes relying too much on technology.

I think the issue is finding the perfect balance between using technology and having more user input to keep the user still engaged enough to react. Going back to my cross country trip even with the little corrections I had to make for the wheel, I am not confident I was engaged with the drive as well as I should have. I do honestly believe with the advancements of technology we are becoming a safer society. But again with that in mind what can we do to make the user still engaged enough to react in case of an emergency. I take a different stance on the accidents that occurred on those airlines from the article. I do not necessarily believe it was the automation that caused the pilots to deviate from their training and cause the planes to crash. I think sometimes people just react poorly to stressful situations. Fear obscures rational reasoning sometimes. I see a spider and everything I know about life goes out the window and I freeze up and will stand in place until the spider is removed.  I am not sure if anyone saw on the news this week that robot dog that was used during an arrest in NYC.

100% this relates to the concern of technology taking jobs. If you ever watch “How it’s Made” all those factories are pretty much 100% reliant on technology with human workers just being their for quality control. The technology is there for AI to determine quality control too so that is only a matter of time before that is implemented as well and the use of human workers will be not worth the time and money.