ABSTRACT
This chapter considers some of the uncertainties associated with sharing cognitive activities with machines. Automation is the replacement of human activities by machine activities. Early machines were exquisitely simple in the way they multiplied or replaced human force. In contrast, the technology-centred approach promotes passive roles like monitoring. An underlying factor has been the expectation that automation can amplify human cognitive capabilities. Cognitive enhancement provides automation with a greater challenge than that presented by task repetition and force multiplication. Another way of partitioning automation is in terms of the machine's intention to alter the behaviour of its human partner. Technology-centred automation is automation in which the machine contribution to achieving a task and the needs of the machine for achieving the task are of prime importance. Coupled to autonomy is a capacity called authority, which is the capability of modem systems to control and command actions.
