Have you realised yet that computers are controlling more and more aspects of our lives? It is a genuine concern as this short story tells us.
For instance, if you've worked in a modern office building, you've probably come across the ventilation problem: if you get hot, you can't just open the window. You usually have to ask 'building services', often in a call centre on the other side of the world, to turn up the air conditioning via the building's computer system.
However, there is a company in New Zealand.( Will and Guy) have been told who might be rethinking their reliance on this type of computer control.
Mill St 'Pak'n Save Supermarket' in Hamilton, New Zealand was supposed to be closed for Good Friday.
However, it seems that no one told the Computer in charge of controlling the shop, meaning that the doors were opened as normal on Friday morning and the lights turned on, but without any staff being at work.
Naturally the stock didn't stay on the shelves for long; but most of the "customers" didn't go to the trouble of paying for it, although some did, using the automated checkouts.
Will and Guy are beginning to think that maybe it's time to rethink how much power we give to our Computers.
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From Coast to Coast, We'll see it all.......One Day
I guess anyone could have made that mistake but you'd have to question the computer programmer after all computers are just dumb machines that do what they're told, exactly what they're told. Luckily it seems most people did the right thing and that was nice to read.
KJ said that "most of the people didn't bother to pay"...........
The programming fault is likely to be on Pak n Save, not the computer server owners/operators - guess they might now go out and buy a proper 2016 calendar rather than use their own cheap ones LOL and the unemployment total will no doubt increase by one from that shop or their H/O (whoever set the smart system data up)
And unfortunately computers are no longer dumb machines - recently our PM was in Japan and as a publicity stunt had an interactive conversation with a "robot" (Star Wars style). The Japanese have developed computers which can make their own decisions and control the outcomes and are therefore regarded as intelligent
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Cheers Bruce
The amazing things you see when nomading Australia
I'd like to add that they are also only as good as the people who write the software to use on them! Since 1987 working in State and Aust Govt. there has been endless hair pull scenarios of poorly written software being the cause of the problems!
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Cheers - Ian
I slowly realise as I get older that I am definitely NOT the fastest rat in the race.
Also the older I get the more I realise I do not know.
OK, what I should have said was, computers are only as good as the information they are fed... by the people who operate or write programs for them.. the old saying of GIGO still holds true
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Yes I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial.
