Detecting Occurrences of the “Substitution Myth”: A Systems Engineering Template for Modeling the Supervision of Automation

Abstract

Current usages of model-based systems engineering allow naïve substitutions of humans by machines. Human factors / ergonomics researchers have rejected such substitutions as the “substitution myth,” for if work is reallocated from a human to a machine, then there is work incurred to ensure that the machine is working properly—it must be supervised. We construct a template for what automation should look like when the need for supervision is taken into account. The template can be applied to understand the arrangements for supervising automation in systems as they are and to explore the options for systems that are being designed. We consider examples from electronic warfare self-protection and the command and control of sensor-weapon systems in the land domain.