The Changing Roles of Humans and Algorithms in (Process) Matching

Abstract

Historically, matching problems (including process matching, schema matching, and entity resolution) were considered semiautomated tasks in which correspondences are generated by matching algorithms and subsequently validated by human expert(s). The role of humans as validators is diminishing, in part due to the amount and size of matching tasks. Our vision for the changing role of humans in matching is divided into two main approaches, namely Humans Out and Humans In. The former questions the inherent need for humans in the matching loop, while the latter focuses on overcoming human cognitive biases via algorithmic assistance. Above all, we observe that matching requires unconventional thinking demonstrated by advanced machine learning methods to complement (and possibly take over) the role of humans in matching.