Incorporating a new technology into agent-artifact space. The case of control systems automation.

We contribute to the debate on innovation theory and policy by exploring, through the interpretative framework provided by Lane and Maxfield’s theory of innovation (1997; 2005), a set of case studies concerning the implementation of a new technology for system automation and its incorporation into the structure of agent-artifact space (Lane and Maxfield, 1996). Our purposes are, on the one hand, to illustrate to what extent this theoretical approach can help us make sense of innovation processes, and, on the other, to derive some general implications for innovation theory.innovation, technological systems, complex systems, innovation networks, control systems automation

The Responsibility Quantification (ResQu) Model of Human Interaction with Automation

Intelligent systems and advanced automation are involved in information collection and evaluation, in decision-making and in the implementation of chosen actions. In such systems, human responsibility becomes equivocal. Understanding human casual responsibility is particularly important when intelligent autonomous systems can harm people, as with autonomous vehicles or, most notably, with autonomous weapon systems (AWS). Using Information Theory, we develop a responsibility quantification (ResQu) model of human involvement in intelligent automated systems and demonstrate its applications on decisions regarding AWS. The analysis reveals that human comparative responsibility to outcomes is often low, even when major functions are allocated to the human. Thus, broadly stated policies of keeping humans in the loop and having meaningful human control are misleading and cannot truly direct decisions on how to involve humans in intelligent systems and advanced automation. The current model is an initial step in the complex goal to create a comprehensive responsibility model, that will enable quantification of human causal responsibility. It assumes stationarity, full knowledge regarding the characteristic of the human and automation and ignores temporal aspects. Despite these limitations, it can aid in the analysis of systems designs alternatives and policy decisions regarding human responsibility in intelligent systems and advanced automation

Guiding the Automation and AI Revolution: What the Rise in Automation Means for Shifting Standards of Human Value and Our Societal Structure

The automation revolution is inevitable; however, this technology does not have to be our destiny. Traditionally, the idea of automation has been associated with replacing human jobs; however, through deliberate implementation it can be used to empower human beings. The impact of the rise in automation depends on how the technology is adopted by individuals, a human-centric approach from employers, and policy responses to inherent shifts in societal structures and economic systems.Plan II Honors Progra

Automation and Robotics For the Space Station: The Influence of the Advanced Technology Advisory Committee

The creation of the Advanced Technology Advisory Committee (ATAC) was mandated by Congress in 1984 for the purpose of identifying specific systems of the Space Station which would advance automation and\u27robotics technologies. The initial ATAC report, released in 1985, proposed goals for automation and robotics applications for the initial and evolutionary space stations , as well as recommendations for implementation strategies of these goals. These recommendations have been accepted as policy by NASA. Since that initial report, ATAC has continued to release semiannual reports on Space Station\u27s progress in automation and robotics, including areas of concern and further recommendations. This paper will review the history of ATAC and its future. Previously ATAC has been an external force to push the use of automation and robotics on the Space Station. ATAC also promotes the development of state-of-the-art technology in automation and robotics , which is crucial due to the lack of off-the-shelf items. Now that we are approaching the final design and development stages of the Station, actual implementation on the initial Station and provisions for future incorporation of automation and robotics on the evolutionary Station are critical. Where ATAC goes from here and what possible impacts it will have, are discussed

The Future Scenarios of Automation and Robot Implementation in the Manufacturing Industry

Since 1983, manufacturing industry in Malaysia has embraced automation and robotics under the leadership of former Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Manufacturing companies in Malaysia have been encouraged to embrace automation and robotics as it offers many benefits to the country. However, the radical fluctuations in the dynamic manufacturing environment impose challenges for industries to keep up with the changes. Thus, this study was conducted to identify the STEEPV factors of social, technological, economic, environmental, politics and values that influence the adoption of full automation and robotics in the manufacturing industry. In addition, possible future scenarios for the implementation of full automation and robots were proposed as well. The research was conducted using STEEPV analysis where 50 managers from manufacturing companies responded to the distributed questionnaire. The result showed that economic sector had the greatest influence towards full automation and robots’ implementation in the manufacturing industry. In addition, the four scenarios predicted to occur for the next ten to fifteen years were ‘the dawn of smart manufacturing’, ‘inefficacious industry’, ‘ebb and flow’ and ‘obstreperous technological development’. The deliberate incorporation of automation and robots, aligned with strategic planning and a flexible policy framework, will not only boost productivity but also bolster the nation's economic growth and global competitiveness. The manufacturing industry, in collaboration with the government, plays a pivotal role in realising the complete potential of these future scenarios, ensuring a prosperous and sustainable future for Malaysia. Keywords: Automation, robots, STEEPV, future scenario, manufacturing industr

Socialbots and the Challenges of Cyberspace Awareness

As security communities brace for the emerging social automation based threats, we examine the mechanisms of developing situation awareness in cyberspace and the governance issues that socialbots bring into this existing paradigm of cyber situation awareness. We point out that an organisation's situation awareness in cyberspace is a phenomena fundamentally distinct from the original conception of situation awareness, requiring continuous data exchange and knowledge management where the standard implementation mechanisms require significant policy attention in light of threats like malicious social automation. We conceptualise Cyberspace Awareness as a socio-technical phenomena with Syntactic, Semantic, and Operatic dimensions - each subject to a number of stressors which are exacerbated under social automation based threats. The paper contributes to the ideas of situational awareness in cyberspace, and characterises the challenges therein around tackling the increasingly social and often pervasive, automation in cyber threat environments

Human Trust-based Feedback Control: Dynamically varying automation transparency to optimize human-machine interactions

Human trust in automation plays an essential role in interactions between humans and automation. While a lack of trust can lead to a human's disuse of automation, over-trust can result in a human trusting a faulty autonomous system which could have negative consequences for the human. Therefore, human trust should be calibrated to optimize human-machine interactions with respect to context-specific performance objectives. In this article, we present a probabilistic framework to model and calibrate a human's trust and workload dynamics during his/her interaction with an intelligent decision-aid system. This calibration is achieved by varying the automation's transparency---the amount and utility of information provided to the human. The parameterization of the model is conducted using behavioral data collected through human-subject experiments, and three feedback control policies are experimentally validated and compared against a non-adaptive decision-aid system. The results show that human-automation team performance can be optimized when the transparency is dynamically updated based on the proposed control policy. This framework is a first step toward widespread design and implementation of real-time adaptive automation for use in human-machine interactions.Comment: 21 page

A framework of justification criteria for advanced manufacturing technology implementation in small and medium enterprises

Today in order to stay in businesses and prosper, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are seeking higher electiveness and competitiveness across the entire cycle of marketing, product design, manufacture, test and sales. SMEs play an increasingly important role in all aspects of competitiveness: both products and production techniques, but also management methods, the organization of the firm and human resources training. One of the ways by which SMEs can achieve a competitive advantage in manufacturing is through the implementation of Advanced Manufacturing Technology (AMT). An increasing number of them have chosen and are choosing various levels of AMT as the solution. Realizing the importance of SMEs, an attempt has been made in this paper to review the application of AMT in SMEs. Also, a framework has been offered for the implementation of AMT in SMEs. Finally, a summary of findings and conclusions are presented