Better known as a philosopher, Blaise Pascal was also a renowned French mathematician in the 17th century. While his father was offered the position of superintendent (i.e. tax collector), the young man sought to help him by creating a machine capable of calculating for him. From 1640, he set up various prototypes and ended up inventing the first functional mechanical calculator in history. This machine could perform arithmetic operations such as additions, subtractions, and even multiplications thanks to an innovative idea from its designer.
The invention of pascaline: a first step towards automating tasks
La Pascaline is composed of five dials. Each dial can scroll a number between zero and nine. She is so capable of displaying a number between 0 and 99,999. To perform the arithmetic operations, each dial is controlled by a wheel that simply needs to be turned to scroll through the numbers. What is innovative about Pascaline is the Reporter ; a jump system that allows you to transfer units to tens, tens to hundreds and so on.
To add 9 to 5 for example, you must first display the starting number, nine. Then the units wheel is rotated again to add five. When the dial goes through 9 to reach 4 of the final result, the machine automatically adds a dozen to the dial next door thanks to this rocker system.
With the reporter, pascaline integrates into its mechanism a automation offering the ability to perform a task in place of a human, that of being able to perform mathematical operations without any skills in the field. She makes sure to limit human errors, of Decrease working time And of facilitate the work of its user. Perhaps this is what will give Pascale food for thought when he looks at one of her major concepts, the entertainment.
Repetitive tasks: the alienation of man
In the context of the 17th century, entertainment did not correspond to leisure as opposed to work as in our time.
It comes from Diverter Which means “turn away from”. According to Pascal, entertainment corresponds to all activities that distract us from the problems that constitute the tragedy of our lives and that relate to the fact that man is a mortal being. Although these issues are essential for Pascale, he paradoxically notes that if humans only thought about their misery, they would quickly lose a taste for life. Entertainment offers an opportunity for humans to flee their condition and this underlying desolation, even if this is not reasonable. Pascale therefore does not totally condemn entertainment since it allows us to accept our mortal condition.
But what is the relationship with pascaline? A task that takes up all of the brain's attention is rewarding and one could even say entertaining. But a mastered task, which has become repetitive, monotonous, necessarily plunges the brain into boredom. This is what opens the door to negative thoughts. Repetitive tasks are therefore considered to be an alienation from humans., in that they limit its full potential of reflector, of skills And ofblossoming. But Pascaline has just opened up a new way of working by delegating these tasks to automatons.
RPA: towards a more human work
“It is the advent of automation that, in a few decades, will probably empty factories and free humanity from its oldest and most natural burden, the burden of work, the enslavement to necessity.”
Hannah Arendt, Condition of the modern man, 1958
What Pascaline was for arithmetic calculations, the RPA (Robotic Process Automation) It is now used for a wide range of activities that are considered boring and tedious. THEautomation used to delegate these tasks to machines dedicated to these actions. Unlike humans, they perform them better, more quickly and continuously. The benefits are then numerous. Workers are more mobilized on interesting and fulfilling tasks that contribute to their satisfaction. They can develop qualitative skills which cannot be imitated by machines while in fact providing real added value. They save time to focus on other activities, making them more productive.
RPA thus leaves room for talent in the world of work. because on alienating tasks, a human is no more valuable than a machine that can obtain the same result. On the other hand, where the capabilities of the machine end, the human has this rare and precious value that today's businesses have every interest in developing.
At a time when automatic processes have invaded the workspace, while at the same time freeing humans from the basic tasks that automated them, from this necessity exposed by Arendt; what if RPA finally made us more human by giving us more value? What is certain is that it offers a more ethical dimension of work and gives it new meaning by relieving humans of tasks considered to be arduous.
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Sources: StoryShaper, Hannah Arendt, Condition of the modern man, 1958
