Computer based technologies are not neutral; they embody essential characteristics within our factories and offices, and among workers, professionals, and managers.
Thus, information technology not only produces action but also produces a voice that symbolically renders events, objects, and processes so that they become visible, knowable, and shareable in a new way.
Hence, information technology is characterized by a fundamental duality that has not yet been fully appreciated. On the one hand, the technology can be applied to automating operations – replace human body with technology that enables the same processes to be performed with more continuity and control. On the other, the same technology generates information about the underlying productive and administrative processes though which an organization accomplishes work.
In the office environment, the combination of online transaction systems, information systems, and communication systems creates a vast information presence that now includes data formerly stored in people’s heads, in face-to-face conversations, in metal file drawers, and on widely dispersed pieces of paper.
These dual capacities are not oppisites; they are hierarchically integrated. Informating derives from and builds upon automation. Automation is a necessary but not sufficient condition for informating. It is quite possible to proceed with automation without reference to how it will contribute to the technology’s informating potential. When this occurs, informating is experiencing as an unintended consequence of automation.
MANEKA
BT09B009
As information technology is used to reproduce, extend, and improve upon the process of substituting machines for human agency, it simultaneously accomplishes something quite different. The devices that automate by translating information into action also register data about those automated activities, thus generating new streams of information.
For example, scanner devices in supermarkets automate the checkout process and simultaneously generate data that can be used for inventory control, warehousing, scheduling of deliveries, and market analysis. The same systems that make it possible to automate office transactions also create a vast overview of an organization’s operations, with many levels of data coordinated and accessible for a variety of analytical efforts.Thus, information technology not only produces action but also produces a voice that symbolically renders events, objects, and processes so that they become visible, knowable, and shareable in a new way.
Hence, information technology is characterized by a fundamental duality that has not yet been fully appreciated. On the one hand, the technology can be applied to automating operations – replace human body with technology that enables the same processes to be performed with more continuity and control. On the other, the same technology generates information about the underlying productive and administrative processes though which an organization accomplishes work.
"Activities, events, and objexts are translated into and made visible by information when a technology informates as well as automates." - Shoshana ZuboffThe informating power of intelligent technology can be seen in the manufacturing environment when robots or sensors are used to translate the three-dimensional production space, typically on the screen of a video display terminal or on a computer printout, in the form of electronic symbols, numbers, letters, and graphics.
In the office environment, the combination of online transaction systems, information systems, and communication systems creates a vast information presence that now includes data formerly stored in people’s heads, in face-to-face conversations, in metal file drawers, and on widely dispersed pieces of paper.
These dual capacities are not oppisites; they are hierarchically integrated. Informating derives from and builds upon automation. Automation is a necessary but not sufficient condition for informating. It is quite possible to proceed with automation without reference to how it will contribute to the technology’s informating potential. When this occurs, informating is experiencing as an unintended consequence of automation.
MANEKA
BT09B009
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