Should/could software be more reliable than the "world" in which it is used?

The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines the adjective "reliable" as follows: that may be relied upon, of sound and consistent character of quality. Thus there are two distinct components of the notion: one, relating to the use, another to internal properties of the thing that is described as reliable. The author considers some consequences of blurring the distinction, or worse, of substituting one meaning for another.