One Liners

Chapter 7: Computers. Foundationalism, and Legitimate Knowledge by John W. Murphy (2000).

"Spy out a trend, one liner, issue, argument, concept, revelation, hype, etc… that you found particularly interesting, worrisome, intriguing etc…..Provide some short statement of what is meant by the statement to describe what you have found…and then go a bit further…..locate a more focused description of same."

More organizations have become computerized and there is a growing trend these days to use computers to manage knowledge. Computerization is here to stay and many jobs require employees to have technological skills. Students who wish to secure their future are obtaining technology experience and there is a great deal of emphasis on becoming technically literate. Murphy (2000) says there is a worldview that promotes the use of computers and computers are already capable of accomplishing feats that are unattainable by humans.

This leads me to wonder exactly what is knowledge and if the information obtained from computers should be considered as knowledge. As we have previously discussed computers are merely tools that are programmed by humans to complete tasks, so are they actually capable of possessing knowledge? This debate on whether computers possess knowledge has been ongoing for about 50 years. Murphy (2000) says that computers can only process information that is digitalized and that computer processing of information is unlike human reasoning "which continually encounters ambiguities". With increased computer capabilities he says no wonder people believe the fantastic claims about computers and the myth that computers are capable of human-like thought. Computers are programmed to solve problems by following rules but Murphy (2000) says that the rules must reflect the common sense of the decision-makers.

The terms information and knowledge are sometimes used interchangeably. Some sources state that information does not meet the criteria of becoming knowledge until people use the information to solve a problem, answer a question, or communicate. Choo (1998) describes 3 types of organizational knowledge. Tacit or informal knowledge is used by workers to perform their work and to make sense of their world. An example of tacit knowledge is when you show someone how to do something or involve them in a learning exercise. Cultural knowledge relates to shared assumptions and beliefs, and explicit is formal knowledge that has been codified using symbols. It seems that information doesn't become knowledge until it is applied and that the information from computers needs to be applied by the user in a particular context.

True artificial intelligence will probably never be achieved since the human elements of knowledge, tacit, and cultural knowledge are difficult to replicate. Tasks that computers complete are based on merely explicit knowledge that has been coded into the computer. Murphy (2000) says that the future direction computerization takes will be the result of human creativity and humans will also decide on the context in which computers are used. This is in contrast with the belief that the future capability of computers is beyond our perception. Murphy (2000) says that computers should be integrated so that a social environment is created that is conducive to computer use. It is also important that computers are not just used for the sake of using them and that the benefits of using computers are justified through research.

References

Choo (1998). Types of organizational knowledge. Retrieved on Feb. 13, 2004, from http://choo.fis.utoronto.ca/mgt/MGT1272kc.pdf

Murphy, John W. (2000). Computers. Foundationalism, and Legitimate Knowledge. In V. Berdayes & J. Murphy, Computers, human interactions, and organizations: critical issues. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers.