automatic

The word ‘auto’ comes from the Greek word ‘autos’ meaning ‘self’. The word ‘automatic’ means ‘self acting’.
Automatic is the opposite of manual. The word ‘manual’ comes from the Latin word ‘manus’ which means ‘by the hand’. The word ‘manufacture’ comes from ‘manu’ (the hand) and ‘facture’ (to make).
The most popular example is probably that of gear switching in a motor car. If you drive a ‘manual’, you change gears by your hand. If you drive an ‘automatic’ the car selects the gears for you.
These are important indicators of the origins and direction of technology. Mechanical technology was generally not automatic. It required a worker to input materials and operate the controls.
Automation is ‘one machine controlling another machine’. When you add information to the control mechanism in terms of some form of feedback mechanism, you can create automation.
Examples: automated telephone services