Charles Lenay, says, (and I couldn’t agree more)

Our point of view is that computers are basically technical devices, and should be treated in the same way as other technical devices. Certainly, they are devices of a special sort, and the “worlds” that are brought forth when a human being uses them are a special sort of “world” ; but the interaction that occurs (that is mediated by the machine) is between the human being and this “world”; it is not an interaction between the human being and the machine. Thus, there is something deeply wrong in the very phrase “Human-Computer Interface”. Of course, “HCI” has become a hackneyed term, but this engrained (mis)-use does not make it correct. The basic problem lies in the implication that human beings and computers are entities of the same sort, so that they could “interact” on a basis of equality. This would only be correct if one whole-heartedly embraces the “computational theory of mind” according to which humans function like computers ; but as we understand it, an important common point among members of our network is that we reject this classical paradigm in cognitive science. If we are wrong about this, we certainly need some more fundamental discussion about the epistemology of cognitive science.

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