[LINK] From a wrongful arrest to a life-saving romance: the typos that have changed people's lives | Technology | The Guardian

[David]

On Sunday, 4 August 2019 11:40:47 AEST Karl Auer wrote:

> It is now. That doesn't mean it can never be. We should not discard a technology because it is rough now. But likewise we shouldn't trust it while it is still rough - or rather we should know its limits and use it within them.

The author suggests  "Meanwhile, I have been thinking the opposite: that tech really has to get a lot better, so that voice commands, or even thought commands, can override our inherent bent for sloppiness."

That mis-identifies the problem and proposes to fix it with far more complex technology which will probably only make matters worse.  The root issue IMHO lies in the design of systems where it's possible for minor and eminently predictable errors to have major consequences.

In the case of the unfortunate man arrested for alleged child pornography offences, why do police procedures not involve an independent cross-check when a suspect is identified?  It must also have been obvious from the outset that he was an unlikely suspect.

In the case of the misplaced decimal point (15 degrees 19.8 minutes east entered into aircraft navigation computer instead of 151 degrees 9.8 minutes east), surely the system could respond by identifying the location of those coordinates ("Melbourne") when the error would be obvious.  (I agree there's a problem with way-points, but I'm not the relevant expert.)  I think some airlines now require these settings to be cross-checked by another member of crew.

The case of the hospital drug vending machine is tragic beyond words.  Hospital policy should require the identification and dosage of all drugs to be cross-checked by two qualified personnel, and I believe that's standard practice in Australia.

David L.