Adapting Automation to Man, Culture and Society

Abstract Anxiety about the effects of automation on workers and society is at least 150 years old. The recent explosion of microelectronics and robotic applications has sharpened our understanding of both the gains and the risks: mismatch to human physiological, psychological and cultural characteristics; alienation from fulfillment and dignity in work; widening of the gap between skilled and unskilled workers and between technologically developed and underdeveloped communities; decrement in individual and national security. Attention to these problems can insure that automation results in a better society. The control engineer, who is responsible for enlarging the scale of automation, should also play a role in adapting it to people. For the time being, technology should be individually designed to each culture.