1 . Paula Ceely had got out of her car to open a metal gate that blocked her path when she heard the whistle sounded by the driver of a train. Her Renault Clio was parked across a railway line. Seconds later, she watched the train drag her car almost a kilometre down the railway tracks. Ceely’s near miss made the news. She blamed the accident on her GPS. She had never driven the route before. It was dark and raining heavily. Ceely was relying on her GPS, but it made no mention of the crossing. “I put my complete trust in the device and it led me right into the path of a speeding train,” she told the BBC.

Who is to blame here? Rick Stevenson, telling Ceely’s story in his book When Machines Fail Us, points his finger at the limitations of technology. We put our faith in digital devices, he says, but our digital helpers are too often not up to the job. It’s not just GPS devices; Stevenson takes us on a tour of digital disasters involving everything from mobile phones to wireless keyboards.

The problem with his argument in the book is that it’s not clear why he only focuses on digital technology, while there may be many other possible causes. A map-maker might have left the crossing off a paper map. Maybe we should blame Ceely for not paying attention. Perhaps the railway authorities are at fault for poor signaling system. But Stevenson doesn’t say. 

It’s a problem that runs through the book. In another section on cars, Stevenson describes the advanced techniques that criminals use to defeat computer-based locking systems for cars. He says once again not all new locks have proved reliable. But perhaps it’s also due to the shortage of policemen on the streets, or changing social circumstances, or some combination of these factors. 

The game between humans and their smart devices is amusing and complex. It is shaped by economics, psychology and the cultures we live in. Somewhere in the mix of those forces there may be a way for a wiser use of technology.