Non-determinism in User-Machine Interaction

Abstract

There is a basic and fundamental notion in the world of automated machines and software design that is used to characterize the type of user interaction problem that we identified in the remote control example from the previous chapter. It is called non-determinism, and refers to a system that behaves in a way that cannot be determined. The machine’s responses, from the user’s point of view, become unpredictable. They confuse us, and therefore, at times, are quite dangerous.