Introduction

Abstract

Machines and computers are everywhere, progressively changing the way we go about our lives: We “interface” with ATMs, not bank tellers. At the gas station, we quickly swipe the card, pump, and press “YES” for a receipt. We buy airline tickets on line, use automated check-in machines at the airport, and drive rental cars along unfamiliar streets using an onboard navigation system. Slowly in some cases, overnight in others, almost every aspect of our work, leisure, and consumer world has come to involve automated systems. We interact with these sophisticated devices daily, and the only face we see is the interface.

“What does that mean–tame”?

“It is an act too often neglected,” said the fox. “It means to establish ties.”

—Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince, chapter xxi