Engelbart was primarily motivated by augmenting the human intellect [1].
> Increased capability in this respect is taken to mean a mixture of the following: more-rapid comprehension, better comprehension, the possibility of gaining a useful degree of comprehension in a situation that previously was too complex, speedier solutions, better solutions, and the possibility of finding solutions to problems that before seemed insolvable.
Licklider also wrote:
> It is often said that programming for a computing machine forces one to think clearly...it disciplines the thought process. If the user can think his problem through in advance, symbiotic association with a computing machine is not necessary.
>
>...many problems that can be thought through in advance are very difficult to think through in advance. easier to solve...solved faster, through an intuitively guided trial-and-error procedure in which the computer...[revealed] unexpected turns in the solution
We have yet to realize the core vision laid forth in As We May Think and by other pioneers of modern computing. And if a certain group that thinks Tools for Augmenting Human Intellect are too dangerous to be spread widely has their way, we may never do so; at least not without first regressing for a substantially long time.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligence_amplification#Dou...