Editorial

Citation

Evans, S. (2015), "Editorial", Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol. 28 No. 7. https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-08-2015-2166

Editorial

Article Type: Literature and insights From: Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Volume 28, Issue 7.

There's an App for that

There must be times when you wish you could do something that is beyond your normal capabilities. I used to wish I could fly; sometimes still do. One of my kids recently asked, "If you had a choice, would you rather be able to pause time or rewind it so you could go back and do things over again?" While we quickly debated the pros and cons of each option (we chose the pause time one, incidentally), it occurred to me that sometimes it would be easier to flip a coin when faced with such questions, though that would deny you the rewards of thinking through a deeply philosophical issue.

Nonetheless, let us be imaginative. What if you could just pick up your mobile phone or sit at your computer and summon the best thinkers of the generation to the task in order to identify an outcome that is considered more desirable? That assumes the question has been contemplated before, of course, unless there is a battery of experts just waiting idly on such enquiries to exercise their brains. The internet would take their answer and pop the answer to your dilemma onto your screen for your delectation. You would still have free will; you could choose to go another way, or do nothing.

If I stretch my mind back, I can recall an internet page named Ask Jeeves (actually ask.com) that purported to fetch information you needed. It was really just a low-level search engine. Makes me think of Apple's more recent voice-activated Siri. So much for progress.

When you learn to play video games well, you start to notice things that will allow you to unlock what are called Easter eggs; little bonus surprises. My youngest tells me these things; I am too bored to sit playing them for very long, so I do not have these encounters – or much skill. Alternatively, a player might find so-called "cheats" in a game, which are ways to build up a big score without much skill, and exploit them while annoying the hell out of opponents. Maybe the right App in this case is one that would simply stymie the use of such cheats. It could outsmart people who try to succeed with inside information rather than real skill and effort. They say information is power, and one kind can beat another.

And speaking of information – you can now use an App to tell your oven to switch on or your TV to begin recording a show while you are still driving home, for instance. Soon we will have a single App available as a device browser that manages multiple household appliances through a common software language in the same way. One App to rule them all?

So far all I have really done is describe the use of search or command terms. What about the important, added issue of comparative evaluation. Is this better than that? Computers cannot tell you. They can give you quantitative information but not qualitative, so they "know" whether more customers use positive words than negative ones in product feedback or whether they give it seven rather than eight out of ten, but that is still just counting. They cannot say green is better than red. They cannot change the laws of nature. They cannot offer you instant musical ability where you have none. They cannot give you a shoulder to cry on.

So, if there were suddenly Apps available that you presently cannot access, what would you want them to be? They should do more than allow you to select the quickest path through traffic or look for the best detergent prices.

There's no App that guarantees you respect. How about an App that let you maximise happiness? Too much. How about one that offers you a haiku blending financial advice with ways to remain calm? Too obscure? One that would write editorials and academic papers? Unethical.

It looks like we are doomed to the practical and mundane. Maybe someone will invent an App that collates every scrap of feedback available and lets you choose the best App. The App of Apps. It sounds like a lot of work, so I might just pause time while you get to work on that.

In this issue, Lee Parker paints a picture of a disengaged student who is passing the time during a lecture in an altogether different way than the speaker intends. If you have ever been required to sit through a dull speech or a poorly devised talk, you might sympathise and wonder where the App is on your mobile that might discreetly lift you out of the venue and simply leave a hologram behind.

Your own creative contributions can be submitted via ScholarOne, and your e-mail correspondence is always welcome, of course, at: mailto:steve.evans@flinders.edu.au

Steve Evans - Literary Editor