The Nature of the Machine and the Collapse of Cybernetics
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Guide to the Systems Engineering Body of Knowledge (Sebok) Version 1.3
Guide to the Systems Engineering Body of Knowledge (SEBoK) version 1.3 Released May 30, 2014 Part 2: Systems Please note that this is a PDF extraction of the content from www.sebokwiki.org Copyright and Licensing A compilation copyright to the SEBoK is held by The Trustees of the Stevens Institute of Technology ©2014 (“Stevens”) and copyright to most of the content within the SEBoK is also held by Stevens. Prominently noted throughout the SEBoK are other items of content for which the copyright is held by a third party. These items consist mainly of tables and figures. In each case of third party content, such content is used by Stevens with permission and its use by third parties is limited. Stevens is publishing those portions of the SEBoK to which it holds copyright under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/deed.en_US for details about what this license allows. This license does not permit use of third party material but gives rights to the systems engineering community to freely use the remainder of the SEBoK within the terms of the license. Stevens is publishing the SEBoK as a compilation including the third party material under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ for details about what this license allows. This license will permit very limited noncommercial use of the third party content included within the SEBoK and only as part of the SEBoK compilation. -
Cybernetics 1950
SOME OF THE PROBLEMS CONCERNING DIGITAL [11] NOTIONS IN THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM RALPH W. GERARD Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, University of Chicago I should like to begin by saying, especially for the benefit of the newcomers, that this particular group is the most provocative one with which I am associated. I owe more new ideas and viewpoints to the meetings we have had over the past few years than to any other similar experience; our gatherings, therefore, have evoked some insights. The subject and the group have also provoked a tremendous amount of external inter- est, almost to the extent of a national fad. They have also prompted extensive articles in such well known scientific magazines as Time, News-Week, and Life. Some of these events have, in turn, led me to speak to you this morning. It seems to me, in looking back over the history of this group, that we started our discussions and sessions in the »as if« spirit. Everyone was delighted to express any idea that came into his mind, whether it seemed silly or certain or merely a stimulating guess that would affect someone else. We explored possibilities for all sorts of »ifs.« Then, rather sharply it seemed to me, we began to talk in an »is« idiom. We were say- ing much the same things, but now saying them as if they were so. I remembered a definition of pregnancy: »the result of taking seriously something poked at one in fun,« and wondered if we had become pregnant and were in some danger of premature delivery. -
Warren Mcculloch and the British Cyberneticians
Warren McCulloch and the British cyberneticians Article (Accepted Version) Husbands, Phil and Holland, Owen (2012) Warren McCulloch and the British cyberneticians. Interdisciplinary Science Reviews, 37 (3). pp. 237-253. ISSN 0308-0188 This version is available from Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/43089/ This document is made available in accordance with publisher policies and may differ from the published version or from the version of record. If you wish to cite this item you are advised to consult the publisher’s version. Please see the URL above for details on accessing the published version. Copyright and reuse: Sussex Research Online is a digital repository of the research output of the University. Copyright and all moral rights to the version of the paper presented here belong to the individual author(s) and/or other copyright owners. To the extent reasonable and practicable, the material made available in SRO has been checked for eligibility before being made available. Copies of full text items generally can be reproduced, displayed or performed and given to third parties in any format or medium for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge, provided that the authors, title and full bibliographic details are credited, a hyperlink and/or URL is given for the original metadata page and the content is not changed in any way. http://sro.sussex.ac.uk Warren McCulloch and the British Cyberneticians1 Phil Husbands and Owen Holland Dept. Informatics, University of Sussex Abstract Warren McCulloch was a significant influence on a number of British cyberneticians, as some British pioneers in this area were on him. -
What Can Architecture Learn from Ecological Systems?
Interweaving Architecture and Ecology – A Theoretical Perspective Or: What can architecture learn from ecological systems? Batel Dinur Abstract This paper is part of an on-going research which attempts to reveal whether an analogy between ecology and architecture can benefit architectural design and if so, then in what ways. The analogy is done through an interpretation of three ecological principles which define the organization of living systems and then attempts to reveal how these three ecological principles may be implemented in architecture. The paper firstly describes the problem at hand and the need for a new model for architecture which may be better informed by the study of ecological systems. It then elaborates on the definition of the three ecological principles (fluctuations, stratification, and interdependence) which were chosen for investigation because they define the organization of living systems and therefore may be relevant as a basis for an analogy between ecology and architecture. The paper then presents brief examples of the current and possible further realization of these ecological principles in architecture. Keywords: ecology, architecture, living systems’ organization, process, fluctuations, stratification, interdependence. Introduction In this paper I will try to illuminate how an ecological understanding of systems may contribute to architectural design. An ‘ecological understanding of systems’ means to understand how the components of a living system function together and make the system what it is. My question is whether a better understanding of these living processes may move architecture away from a perceived obsession with the static object, and into a more dynamic system? My argument is that a truly environmental architecture cannot be reached through the refinement of the static object alone, but must address complex interactions, and that these might be best informed through a study of ecology. -
Robert Walser, Paul Scheerbart, and Joseph Roth Vi
Telling Technology Contesting Narratives of Progress in Modernist Literature: Robert Walser, Paul Scheerbart, and Joseph Roth Vincent Hessling Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2018 © 2018 Vincent Hessling All rights reserved ABSTRACT Telling Technology Contesting Narratives of Progress in Modernist Literature: Robert Walser, Paul Scheerbart, and Joseph Roth Vincent Hessling Telling technology explores how modernist literature makes sense of technological change by means of narration. The dissertation consists of three case studies focusing on narrative texts by Robert Walser, Paul Scheerbart, and Joseph Roth. These authors write at a time when a crisis of ‘progress,’ understood as a basic concept of history, coincides with a crisis of narra- tion in the form of anthropocentric, action-based storytelling. Through close readings of their technographic writing, the case studies investigate how the three authors develop alter- native forms of narration so as to tackle the questions posed by the sweeping technological change in their day. Along with a deeper understanding of the individual literary texts, the dissertation establishes a theoretical framework to discuss questions of modern technology and agency through the lens of narrative theory. Table of Contents ABBREVIATIONS ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii INTRODUCTION: Toward a Narratology of Technological Change 1 CHAPTER I: Robert Walser’s Der Gehülfe: A Zero-Grade Narrative of Progress 26 1. The Employee as a Modern Topos 26 2. The Master and the Servant: A Farce on Progress 41 3. Irony of ‘Kaleidoscopic Focalization’ 50 4. The Inventions and their Distribution 55 5. -
This Following Article Is of a Conversation Between Stewart
CoEvolutionary Quarterly, June 1976, 10(21), 32-44. This following article is of a conversation between Stewart Brand, Gregory Bateson and Margaret Mead and was originally published in the CoEvolutionary Quarterly, June 1976, Issue no. 10, pp. 32-44. With very many thanks to Stewart Brand to reproduce it in: A. Kleiner and S. Brand, Editors, Ten years of coevolution quarterly, North Point Press, San Francisco (1986). Available at http://www.oikos.org/forgod.htm For God’s Sake, Margaret Conversation with Gregory Bateson and Margaret Mead Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson were married in 1936. They had met and fallen in love in 1932 while both were doing anthropological fieldwork on the Sepik River in New Guinea (Margaret was at the same time with her second husband, Reo Fortune). In New Guinea Gregory’s unusual sense of theory met Margaret’s improved field methodology and sparked much of the quality in Gregory’s opus on the latmul tribe, Naven. Newly-wed in Bali, they spent two collaborative years in the most intense and productive fieldwork of their lives, developing, among other things, a still unmatched photographic analysis of the culture. Their daughter Mary Catherine, Margaret’s only child, was born in 1939 in the United States. Gregory and Margaret worked together on the result of their Bali fieldwork, Balinese Character - A Photographic Analysis, and then were separated increasingly by World War II and their own diverging interests. Download from http://www.alice.id.tue.nl/references/ 1 | Page CoEvolutionary Quarterly, June 1976, 10(21), 32-44. After the war they both were involved in starting the somewhat famous Macy Conferences (1947-53) that invented cybernetics. -
Information Systems Foundations Theory, Representation and Reality
Information Systems Foundations Theory, Representation and Reality Information Systems Foundations Theory, Representation and Reality Dennis N. Hart and Shirley D. Gregor (Editors) Workshop Chair Shirley D. Gregor ANU Program Chairs Dennis N. Hart ANU Shirley D. Gregor ANU Program Committee Bob Colomb University of Queensland Walter Fernandez ANU Steven Fraser ANU Sigi Goode ANU Peter Green University of Queensland Robert Johnston University of Melbourne Sumit Lodhia ANU Mike Metcalfe University of South Australia Graham Pervan Curtin University of Technology Michael Rosemann Queensland University of Technology Graeme Shanks University of Melbourne Tim Turner Australian Defence Force Academy Leoni Warne Defence Science and Technology Organisation David Wilson University of Technology, Sydney Published by ANU E Press The Australian National University Canberra ACT 0200, Australia Email: [email protected] This title is also available online at: http://epress.anu.edu.au/info_systems02_citation.html National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Information systems foundations : theory, representation and reality Bibliography. ISBN 9781921313134 (pbk.) ISBN 9781921313141 (online) 1. Management information systems–Congresses. 2. Information resources management–Congresses. 658.4038 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Cover design by Brendon McKinley with logo by Michael Gregor Authors’ photographs on back cover: ANU Photography Printed by University Printing Services, ANU This edition © 2007 ANU E Press Table of Contents Preface vii The Papers ix Theory Designing for Mutability in Information Systems Artifacts, Shirley Gregor and Juhani Iivari 3 The Eect of the Application Domain in IS Problem Solving: A Theoretical Analysis, Iris Vessey 25 Towards a Unied Theory of Fit: Task, Technology and Individual, Michael J. -
Graduate Studies Program
GRADUATE STUDIES PROGRAM Welcome It is our pleasure to welcome you to Singularity University. Our mission is to assemble, educate and inspire leaders who strive to understand and facilitate the development of exponentially advancing technologies in order to address humanity’s grand challenges. Singularity University’s Graduate Studies Program brings together a diverse group–the most accomplished experts in academics, business, and government together with the brightest students from across the globe–for an intense ten-week summer program. The program immerses participants in an unparalleled convergence learning environment. We also challenge our students with our 109+ Team Projects, asking them how they can positively affect the lives of a billion people within 10 years. The next few decades will see the transformation of the science and technology tools available to the world in a fashion more profound than any other time in our history. The current technology revolution moves at an exponential pace, and exponential technologies imply a future with capabilities previously unimagined. Singularity University was founded using the standpoint that with more capability comes more responsibility. Our commitment is to not only to teach, but also to act: to view the world’s Grand Challenges as opportunities to use advancing technology for the benefit of all. If you are interested in the world’s grand challenges, if you are an entrepreneur passionate about making your dreams materialize, and if you are at the top of your class then we hope you will consider applying to the Graduate Studies Program. If you are invited to participate in this highly selective program, you will experience a life-changing 10-week program and join an incredible community of thinkers and doers. -
Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2020
Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2020 Published: 21 October 2019 ID: G00432920 Analyst(s): David Cearley, Nick Jones, David Smith, Brian Burke, Arun Chandrasekaran, CK Lu Strategic technology trends have the potential both to create opportunity and to drive significant disruption. Enterprise architecture and technology innovation leaders must evaluate these top trends to determine how combinations of trends can power their innovation strategies. Key Findings ■ Strategic technology trends have significant potential to create and respond to disruption and to power both transformation and optimization initiatives. ■ Artificial intelligence (AI) is a foundational catalyst for advanced process automation and human augmentation and engagement. ■ Physical environments including factories, offices and cities will become “smart spaces” within which people will interact through multiple touchpoints and sensory channels for an increasingly ambient experience. ■ Dealing with privacy, digital ethics and security challenges generated by AI, the Internet of Things (IoT)/edge, and other evolving technologies will become critical to maintain trust and avoid legal entanglements. Recommendations Enterprise architecture and technology innovation leaders must: ■ Center their innovation efforts on people and use tools such as personas, journey maps, technology radars, and roadmaps to evaluate opportunities, challenges and time frames for adoption. ■ Build an overarching view across functional and process silos and exploit a complementary set of tools including RPA, iBPMS, DTO, application development, and AI domains that guide how the tools are used and the systems they create are integrated. ■ Embrace multiexperience and implement development platforms and design principles to support conversational, immersive and increasingly ambient experiences. ■ Establish governance principles, policies, best practices and technology architectures to increase transparency and trust regarding data and the use of AI. -
"Contesting for the Body of Information: the Macy Conferences On
........... Ch..a ..p.Le.r. ... T.h.r.e .. e CONTESTING FOR THE BODY OF INFORMATION: THE MACY CONFERENCES ON CYBERNETICS When and where did information get constructed as a disembodied medium? How were researchers convinced that humans and machines are brothers under the skin? Although the Macy Conferences on Cybernetics were notthe only forum grappling with these questions, they were particu larly important because they acted as a crossroads for the traffic in cyber netic models and artifacts. This chapter charts the arguments that made information seem more important than materiality within this research community. Broadly speaking, the arguments were deployed along three fronts. The first was concerned with the construction of information as a theoretical entity; the second, with the construction of (human) neural structures so that they were seen as flows of information; the third, with the construction of artifacts that translated information flows into observable operations, thereby making the flows "real." Yet at each of these fronts, there was also significant resistance to the reification of information. Alternate models were proposed; important qualifications were voiced; objections were raised to the disparity between simple artifacts and the complex problems they addressed. Reification was triumphant not because it had no opposition but because scientifically and culturally situated debates made it seem a better choice than the alterna tives. Recovering the complexities of these debates helps to demystifY the assumption that information is more essential than matter or energy. Fol lowed backto moments before it became a black box, this conclusion seems less like an inevitability and more like the result of negotiations specific to the circumstances of the U.S. -
What Is Systems Theory?
What is Systems Theory? Systems theory is an interdisciplinary theory about the nature of complex systems in nature, society, and science, and is a framework by which one can investigate and/or describe any group of objects that work together to produce some result. This could be a single organism, any organization or society, or any electro-mechanical or informational artifact. As a technical and general academic area of study it predominantly refers to the science of systems that resulted from Bertalanffy's General System Theory (GST), among others, in initiating what became a project of systems research and practice. Systems theoretical approaches were later appropriated in other fields, such as in the structural functionalist sociology of Talcott Parsons and Niklas Luhmann . Contents - 1 Overview - 2 History - 3 Developments in system theories - 3.1 General systems research and systems inquiry - 3.2 Cybernetics - 3.3 Complex adaptive systems - 4 Applications of system theories - 4.1 Living systems theory - 4.2 Organizational theory - 4.3 Software and computing - 4.4 Sociology and Sociocybernetics - 4.5 System dynamics - 4.6 Systems engineering - 4.7 Systems psychology - 5 See also - 6 References - 7 Further reading - 8 External links - 9 Organisations // Overview 1 / 20 What is Systems Theory? Margaret Mead was an influential figure in systems theory. Contemporary ideas from systems theory have grown with diversified areas, exemplified by the work of Béla H. Bánáthy, ecological systems with Howard T. Odum, Eugene Odum and Fritj of Capra , organizational theory and management with individuals such as Peter Senge , interdisciplinary study with areas like Human Resource Development from the work of Richard A. -
Analog, Digital, and the Cybernetic Illusion Claus Pias Keywords
Analog, digital, and the cybernetic illusion Claus Pias Keywords philosophy of cybernetics; Macy-Conferences Abstract In the first part of this article cybernetics is reconstructed as a new techno-philosophy subverting ontological borders and thus promising a forthcoming utopia of unified knowledge. In the second part this is exemplified by the discussions about the terms »analog« and »digital« at the Macy-Conferences 1946-1953. There, the new cybernetic epistemology is founded on a suppression of the »real« (i.e. the physical, continuous, material, analog) by the »symbolic« (i. e. the artificial, discrete, logical, digital). In the third part this is embedded in a broader philosophical and historical context. First, the difference between »analog« and »digital« resembles the Kantian difference of »senses« and »reason«. Together they form the »illusionary« function, which a digital-oriented cybernetics tries to abandon. Second, this attempt to get rid of illusion produces a »cybernetic illusion«, that (according to Foucault) replaces the anthropological illusion. Heinz von Foerster’s work could be seen as an attempt to keep cybernetics experimental, to establish a balance of power between analog and digital, and to respect the illusionary function of knowledge. Cybernetics as utopian science When I started collecting European books on cybernetics from the 50’s and 60’s I was impressed: during that time no field of knowledge remains untouched by cybernetics. There are books on cybernetics and theology, anthropology, and medicine; on cybernetics in politics, sociology, and economy, in fine arts, literature, and military strategy; on cybernetics and pedagogics, homeopathics, and anthroposophy; books for scientists and laymen; books for children and adults.