The Flush of Automation

The restrooms on our floor finally reopened after nearly a month of remodeling. They are beautiful. (And no, I did not go into the men’s room. The door was open during the remodeling process, so I got a peek at it as I walked by.)

They also are automated. The toilets flush on their own once they detect the user standing up. Stick your hand under the soap dispenser and out squirts some cleansing suds. Likewise, the water faucet turns on as you move your hands under it.

It occurred to me when I was in the newly remodeled restroom for the first time that while all of those conveniences are very cool in their attempt to lessen the spreading of germs, they also are indicative of a much larger potential problem in our society: not doing for ourselves. I wondered how many people who use our restrooms on a regular basis (the Student Activities Center also has self-flushers and automated faucets) forget to flush when using toilets in other places or get frustrated when the water won’t come on as they frantically wave their hands under the faucet at grandma’s house.

How many of us have absent-mindedly tried to use our vehicles’ electronic keys to open other doors? I know I felt pretty foolish when I clicked on the electronic key for my old Prius (my work keys were attached) in an attempt to unlock my office door. Now I don’t have to worry. With my current Prius, I don’t even have to get my key out. As long as it is within a couple of feet of the car, all I have to do is pull on the door handle and the driver’s side door will unlock and open. But there again, further automation and less thinking and effort on my part.

We launched our new website at work this past week, and while we are still tweaking it, the essentials are there, including a link to check campus email and a link to get to the passworded portion of the site. Yet a number of people could not find those links, despite the links’ prominence on the front page. They were used to seeing the links in a certain place on the old site, and when they weren’t there, rather than look around, people complained that they couldn’t find them.

Are we moving toward being a society so used to having simple tasks done for us that we are unable to think creatively of a solution, should those automations change or go awry? I certainly hope not, for if that is true, the prospects for our future are sad indeed.