Summary
History has passed judgment on Pyrrhus of Epirus, cementing his legacy with a term based on his name, the definition of which casts Pyrrhus as irresponsible. With the passage of time and the value of hindsight, we can make our own judgments as to whether he was acting responsibly. We can make similar judgments on other figures from our history and our own careers.
Being responsible means exercising good judgment. Despite this, however, we often eschew good judgment and embark on quixotic quests for “complete, end-to-end automation” or “automate at all cost”; these quests distract us from providing value while we build an unsustainable Rube Goldberg machine of automation sadness. These are not responsible approaches. It is incumbent on us to undertake automation endeavors in a responsible, value-based way. This value can take many forms, but to capitalize on that value we must be aware of many factors that affect it.
Join us as Paul Grizzaffi explains responsible ways to approach automation, describes some of the knowledge we’ll need to be responsible, and shares insights about automation responsibility from his career. Let’s allow history to remember our automation endeavors fondly instead of as Pyrrhic forays into irresponsibility.
Key Takeaways
Exercising good judgment requires knowledge
Focus on providing value and being appropriate
Responsibility is context-dependent