First, through increased control automation, the human role has shifted from an emphasis on the perceptual-motor skills needed for manual control to the cognitive skills (e.g., monitoring, planning, fault management) needed for supervisory activities. Second, developments in computational technologies (z.e., heuristic programming techniques) have greatly increased the potential for automating decisions and have resulted in environments where humans interact with another, artificial, cognitive system. People are obviously cognitive systems. Developments in computational technology have focused on tool building-how to build better performing machines. But tool use involves more.

This article explores the implications of one type of cognitive technology, techniques and concepts to develop joint human-machine cognitive systems, for the application of computational technology by examining the joint cognitive system implicit in a hypothetical computer consultant that outputs some form of problem solution. This analysis reveals some of the problems can occur in cognitive system design-e.g., machine control of the interaction, the danger of a responsibility-authority double-bind, and the potentially difficult and unsupported task of filtering poor machine solutions. The result is a challenge for applied cognitive psychology to provide models, data, and techniques to help designers build an effective combination between the human and machine elements of a joint cognitive system.