Within fifteen years information will be delivered to the desktop untouched by human hand

We held a lively debate at the Bath Club

on the 31st January. The debate entitled "This house believes that within fifteen years information will be delivered to the desktop untouched by human hand." was met with a lively conversation and an audience with differing views on the subject. For me there was much to think about on the subject in my role to second the motion, following Ian McEwan from the Metropolitan Police, as proposer. Although I stuck to my brief during the debate, I left it personally rethinking some basic principles. Here are my top ten thoughts on automate vs manual.

1. Humans can be unreliable and do not always appreciate the importance of tagging and preparing documents for distribution and consumption.

2. Whilst computers are consistent they lack intuition, interpretation and insight when automating the publication and distribution of information

3. A combination of the two is most probably the more realistic and practical approach. (Chris Collison's third motion proposal!)

4. The vendors have promised too much in the past and left the market with an unhealthy amount of scepticism about the true accuracy of automation.

5. It could be time to reassess the manual vs automated option.

6. We have come a long way in 15 years but where will technology be in another 15 years. Will we be swept along by Moore's Law or will we maintain control over our information and change little?

7.Information Retrieval and Records Management may require different levels of control and this may vary across information assets and different organisations. Therefore, "one rule fits all" may not work.

8.There is a cultural, emotional or personal influence in this debate. Difficult to put your finger on what but individuals are influencing the outcome of organisations information policies and practice.

9. Some organisations are already automating their information management but there will always be a human at both ends of the communication pipe so let's not forget to build usable interfaces.

10.Whenever someone comes up with a top ten they are never exhaustive otherwise the list would most probably be 9 or 11!

Our chair's (Jaqueline Rees, from HM Treasury) introductory slide  "no humans required" is I suspect still a far cry. We may have to wait more than 15 years for the wonderful world of sitting on the beach, sipping cocktails, telepathically receiving precise data onto our sunglasses. Long may the debate rage on!!!!