Directions

"Man-Computer Symbiosis" by J.C.R. Licklider was published in 1960 and provided a guide for decades of computer research. The paper was based on work performed by a small research group at BBN. In this paper Licklider makes a number of statements about the future of man and computers:

• ..."it would be 1980 before developments in artificial intelligence make it possible for machines alone to do much thinking or problem solving of military significance."
• "To think in interaction with a computer in the same way that you think with a colleague whose competence supplements your own will..."

Write a 3 to 5 page paper which looks at the paper "Man-Computer Symbiosis". Make sure to investigate the following questions:

• Were Licklider's list of prerequisites the correct list? Some of these have to be understood from the timeframe of 1960 and the issues at that time in building computers
• Look at one or more of the prerequisites and decide if we have attained the performance Licklider desired.
• Is man-computer symbiosis the correct approach, i.e., is it a 'good' thing to do?
• Is man-computer symbiosis possible today? in the lab? in the general population?