Herbert Simon - Machines Will Do Any Work a Man Can Do

The New Science of Management Decision (1960) | The Shape of Automation (1965, reprint)

“Machines will be capable, within twenty years, of doing any work that a man can do.” Herbert A. Simon wrote this in The New Science of Management Decision (Harper & Row, 1960), p. 38, during a lecture delivered April 7, 1960. The quote is often miscited as 1965, when it was reprinted in The Shape of Automation for Men and Management (Harper Torchbooks), Chapter 3, pp. 95-96. Simon acknowledged that high computer costs ($10,000/month) still made human labor more economical for many tasks.