Automated to Death? - Safety concerns with automated systems

Extract

[...] - Safety concerns with automated systems Abstract: This is very interesting article which brings our attention towards the safety concerns with automated systems. Several incidents are discussed in the article that is related to automation of the respective systems ranging from the metro crash in Washington DC to the presence of faulty accelerometers in airplanes that led to panic among passengers, to the Royal Majesty's cruise ship where GPS antenna cable got detached and the consequences followed. The article talks about the times when there was less or no automation when the officers of respective jobs actively monitored the current environment of the system they operated. [...]

[...] I do agree with the authors that the operator is often expected to flawlessly handle the errors posed by complex automation errors. The real blame and punishment needs to be directed to the people designing and automating a system. After all, the people that did the cost/benefit and risk analyses should also get to share in whatever punishment is given for neglect. I have many friends in the DOD and some of the stories I've heard of Navy ship automation attempts and contractors cutting corners to boost profits is borderline criminal. [...]