Human vs machine
AS you grow older you’re supposed to grow wiser, although some would question the age/wisdom ratio in my case. Many more would say that growing older has little to recommend it, but I’m glad that I’m old enough to clearly remember two key events: England winning the World Cup and Neil Armstrong setting foot on the Moon. Both happened over 50 years ago, but I remember them as though it was yesterday. It’s remembering what happened yesterday that’s the problem: like most folk old enough to remember the Moon landing, my short-term memory isn’t what it used to be.
Now where was I? Oh yes, the Moon landing. That it ever happened in the pre- digital age is nothing short of remarkable. Apparently the mobile phone in my pocket contains more computing power than the Apollo 11 mission, and the feeble computer that was present in the landing craft on July 21, 1969 suffered overload a minute or so before astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were due to touch down. Happily, instead of aborting the actual landing, Armstrong took over and manually guided it down to the Moon’s surface.
When Armstrong stepped out onto the Moon surface, it was arguably the greatest achievement of the human race. It was also the triumph of Man’s ingenuity over a malfunctioning computer.
The fact that a computer so nearly messed up the biggest event in history was no doubt lost in the euphoria of the occasion, but it shouldn’t have been. While computers have changed our lives in many positive ways, they haven’t always been for the better. Getting software to do the jobs of human beings isn’t always a good idea, especially when it just isn’t necessary.
The Boeing 737 is the world’s best-selling aircraft. Design work started in 1965 and it entered service in 1968. Over 10,000 were sold by the time it was superseded by the updated 737 Max model, which entered service in 2017. It was grounded in March this year after two fatal crashes in five months, which killed 346 people and was caused by malfunctioning computer software. All 737 Max aircraft have been recalled by Boeing and aren’t expected to fly again until the end of this year, according to aviation experts.
At its launch, Boeing were boasting about the sophistication of the 737 Max. But the debacle is expected to cost them over £4 million and, it is reported, changing the name of the ill-fated aircraft. The 737 Max, it appears, is a tainted brand. All because Boeing decided to get a computer to do a job that a human pilot could do better.
But Land Rover knows all about that. The second-generation Range Rover was bedevilled by software glitches because its engineers were trying to get computers to do too much, too soon. Even Neil Armstrong would have struggled to get a malfunctioning P38 to its intended destination.
Despite this, Land Rover hasn’t learned the lesson and insists upon foisting computer technology upon us whether we want it or not. Yes, I realise that there are a lot of gullible customers out there who will part with tens of thousands of pounds just to have every electronic gadget in their vehicle, but there’s no accounting for stupidity. There have always been people around with a lot more money than sense.
Do you have electric windows in your house? Do you lower your doorstep before you enter your house? To get comfortable when watching the telly, do you have an electronic control to configure your armchair? Or have heated cushions to keep your bum warm? I thought not.
It is a bizarre fact that in the UK many, many more people have air con in their cars than they do in their homes.
When it comes to selling us stuff we don’t need, all motor manufacturers are spivs. Land Rover isn’t the worst culprit, but to me it is the most unfortunate, because it achieved its reputation for toughness by building no-nonsense, simple vehicles. That was Land Rover’s unique selling point, but sadly it isn’t any more.
The Moon landing is now history. But there is no point in history unless you learn from it. The lesson we should have learned is that computers have their limitations and that when it comes to the crunch, humans skills are better. Perhaps that’s something worth considering by those trying to foist driverless cars on a public that doesn’t want them.
“Even Neil Armstrong would have struggled to get a malfunctioning Range Rover P38 to its intended destination”