With traditional text search software, considerable human skill is needed to retrieve meaningful sets of information. There is no reason why in the hands of a skilled knowledge specialist, tools such as Autonomy can be used in preparing high quality knowledge briefs, for example. The danger is when corporations use these tools as substitutes for professional knowledge intermediaries. What consumers are after is a few recommendations from people they can trust. The greatest problem faced by knowledge tool manufacturers which substitute artificial intelligence with the human variety is in dashing sky-high user expectations.
Tools are useful in the hands of people who understand what they are doing and why.
The recent waves of new Internet users have no background in information and knowledge management. If they don't know what they are doing, users will discover that they are not finding the knowledge that they need in a form in which they can use it. They abandon the knowledge tool and go back to more tried and tested means of finding what they need, such as asking friends and colleagues, joining email groups and subscribing to publication and intelligence services. We welcome your views on these or any other points on chapter 3 or knowledge technologies or tools that you wish to raise. Responses will be summarized in future updates - see Feedback notes .