John McCarthy Quote

Program designers have a tendency to think of the users as idiots who need to be controlled. They should rather think of their program as a servant, whose master, the user, should be able to control it. If designers and programmers think about the apparent mental qualities that their programs will have, they'll create programs that are easier and pleasanter — more humane — to deal with.

"The Little Thoughts of Thinking Machines", Psychology Today, December 1983, pp. 46–49. Reprinted in Formalizing Common Sense: Papers By John McCarthy, 1990, ISBN 0893915351

Program designers have a tendency to think of the users as idiots who need to be controlled. They should rather think of their program as a servant,...

Program designers have a tendency to think of the users as idiots who need to be controlled. They should rather think of their program as a servant,...

Program designers have a tendency to think of the users as idiots who need to be controlled. They should rather think of their program as a servant,...

Program designers have a tendency to think of the users as idiots who need to be controlled. They should rather think of their program as a servant,...