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You're right, it has been. It doesn't always have to be, though; computers (technology) are supposed to make our lives better, not worse. A "service representa

You're right, it has been. It doesn't always have to be, though; computers (technology) are supposed to make our lives better, not worse. A "service representative" (i.e., a real human directly in front of you) could have taken a look at that legal paperwork -- signed by a judge, mind you, and likely imprinted with an official stamp from the clerk -- that Manning was carrying and came to the correct conclusion rather quickly. At the worse, the rep. might have had to get up, walk 20 feet, and have his/her supervisor also review and approve it. At that point, it would have just taken a few moments to update the information in the computer and the problem would have been resolved permanently.

jancsika 9y ago
> You're right, it has been. It doesn't always have to be, though; computers (technology) are supposed to make our lives better, not worse. At least in the cases the author describes, I'm not sure why this would be true. Especially once you consider that, over time, less skilled tellers get hired to fill the position of essentially trusting the computer to do most of the heavy lifting. Why, for example, would a manager keep granting the same power to the teller to use their own discretion, especially in cases where their discretion contradicts the recommendations of the computer system? The potential to gracefully handle edge cases comes at the much greater risk of the unskilled teller screwing up and costing the bank money.