In addition to building a computer and using it only to solve problems, there was an emerging prediction among early Internet pioneers that we can cooperate in various ways with the computers themselves. J.C.R Licklider put down some thoughts about what he referred to as man-computer symbiosis. He talks about how man-computer symbiosis is an expected development in cooperative interaction between men and electronic computers. It will involve very close coupling between the human and the electronic member of the partnership. The main aims are to let formulated thinking as they now facilitate the solution of developed problems and enable humans and computers to cooperate in making decisions in controlling complex situations without inflexible dependence on predetermined programs. I think it’s the second part of the vision that’s interesting and prophetic today. Think about autopilot driving — they still require cooperation with the human because the computer has to prompt us at the right time. It has to be able to calculate if we do the wrong thing. But this vision of man-computer symbiosis has begun to be realized in many ways. It was the 1960s without the Internet, but Licklider can see where this is going — computers do the things that computers are good at, while humans do the things that humans are good at— together, those two capabilities that are complementary can be brought together to help navigate complex situations.
