Failing to Grasp our Failure to Grasp Automation Failure

Abstract

This paper discusses three points inspired by Skraaning and Jamieson’s perspective on automation failure: (a) the limitations of the automation failure concept with expanding system boundaries; (b) parallels between the failure to grasp automation failure and the failure to grasp trust in automation; (c) benefits of taking a pluralistic approach to definitions in sociotechnical systems science. While a taxonomy of automation-involved failures may not directly improve our understanding of how to prevent those failures, it could be instrumental for identifying hazards during test and evaluation of operational systems.