In today’s world almost everything depends on computer technology and these quite recent development make some people worried that by trusting computers so much we’ve created a dangerous situation. This way of thinking may appear logical and sound, but I’d argue against it.
Because of the ever-increasing dependency we have on computers many people call for their development to be stalled or at least their control over important systems and networks be limited. These concerns appear justified, as sometimes machines malfunction and unlike humans they can’t be told what to do and what not to. The argument that people often make against the influence of computers is that it’s risky for machines to be put in control over important systems, as they can malfunction at any moment, but this assumption becomes invalid when you look into human error and often it occurs compared to bugs.
Although machines aren’t perfect, humans are even more prone to mistakes. A big advantage of computer technology is that it works non-stop with the same capacity, while humans aren’t so fortunate. While it’s true that people could work in day and night shifts so they can cover around the clock, this still isn’t effective as humans are naturally less responsive in nighttime. Countless studies show that working night shifts is harmful to cognitive function as it disrupts our circadian rhythm and tanks our sleep quality. The impact on sleep quality is what causes the decline in cognitive function. Now imagine a person, that is lacking quality sleep, controlling an important system, such as our communications or transport.
Moreover, a study shows that since 2006, when properly maintained, machines haven’t caused major system failures in the EU and the US. The last one was in Romania when a poorly calibrated system showed wrong medical records, but the issue was swiftly fixed.
To summarize, machines can seem to be dangerous and hard to trust, but when compared to their alternative, humans, they are undisputedly the safer and better choice.