Uses for Automation

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Scripts can be used for automating specific tasks. Automation replaces repetitive manual steps with processes that happen automatically. Humans are fallible—they can become tired, make mistakes, fail to follow instructions, and be inconsistent in their job performance. In contrast, automated processes complete instructions exactly as coded, in a consistent manner. They can run 24 hours a day, every day, without tiring. For many tasks suitable for automation, it can be more cost-effective than human labor.

Appropriate Uses for Automation

  • The automatic timing and regulation of traffic lights
  • A repetitive task at high risk for human error
  • Sending commands to a computer
  • Detecting and removing duplicates of data
  • Sending automated emails that are personalized by pulling individual names from a database and plugging them into the email
  • Updating a large number of file permissions
  • Reporting on system data, like disk or memory usage
  • Installing software
  • Generating reports
  • Deploying a file or a computer program to all computers on a company network
  • Using a configuration management system to deploy software patches after a human has designed the system
  • Populating an e-commerce site with products
  • Setting the home directory and access permissions for users

Automation is Not Always an Appropriate or Complete Solution

Automation cannot perform all human work. Tasks that require human creativity, social connection, psychology, flexibility, ingenuity, evaluation, and/or complex analytic work are not good candidates for full automation. Sometimes automation can handle certain subtasks, but human intervention is required to complete the larger task. The following are examples of tasks that cannot or should not be fully automated:

  • Items That Require Human Evaluation and Analytic Skills:

    • Designing a configuration management system
    • Investigating and troubleshooting all end-user problems
    • Writing a computer program
    • Building a new startup business

  • Items That Require Human Creativity and/or Aesthetic Judgment:

    • Designing an attractive webpage (AI can do this, but simple automation cannot)
    • Wedding photography
    • Haircuts and styling

  • Items That Cannot Be Automated Due to Basic Physics:

    • Troubleshooting or repairing machines that cannot power on or boot up

  • Items That Need Human Interaction, Psychology, and/or Evaluation Skills:

    • Interviewing and hiring new employees
    • Customer service (chatbots cannot address every customer service need)

  • Items That Should Not Be Fully Automated Due to Costs and Safety:

    • Grocery store checkout process, including bagging groceries
    • Tasks that are less expensive to perform manually

Artificial Intelligence

It is important to understand that basic automation is not the same as artificial intelligence (AI). Automation involves explicitly instructing a machine on how to perform a task. AI, on the other hand, involves training a computing machine to perform complex tasks through a process called machine learning. This allows AI to perform new tasks without human intervention in programming explicit instructions for each task. Although AI can automate human tasks, it is much more complex than basic automation.

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