"Dys-Connected: Vulnerability and Dependence in the Information Age." 

Professor Gene Rochlin, UC Berkeley Energy and Resources Group
hirel@uclink.berkeley.edu

Computers and computer-based networks are increasingly central to the
function and performance of a wide range of human activities, social as
well as technical.  Many of these involve technical systems whose reliable
and predictable performance is critical for personal as well as social
safety and well-being.  Yet, the embedding of control, communication, and
information automation has advanced so rapidly that in many cases human
operators no longer fully understand the processes and systems for which
they are responsible.  Prof. Rochlin's presentation will discuss on a
number of situations, such as cockpit automation and electronic trading of
financial instruments, where some of the potential consequences of
displacement and disempowerment have already been observed.