The symbol‐based epistemology used in artificial intelligence is contrasted with the constructivist, coherence epistemology promoted by cybernetics. The latter leads to…
Abstract
The symbol‐based epistemology used in artificial intelligence is contrasted with the constructivist, coherence epistemology promoted by cybernetics. The latter leads to bootstrapping knowledge representations, in which different parts of the system mutually support each other. Gordon Pask’s entailment meshes are reviewed as a basic application of this approach, and then extended to entailment nets: directed graphs governed by the “bootstrapping axiom”, determining which concepts are to be distinguished or merged. This allows a constant restructuring of the conceptual network. Semantic networks and frame‐like representations can be expressed in this scheme by introducing a basic ontology of node and link types. Entailment nets are then generalized to associative networks with weighted links. Learning algorithms are presented which can adapt the link strengths, based on the frequency with which links are selected by hypertext users. It is argued that such bootstrapping methods can be applied to make the World Wide Web more intelligent, allowing it to self‐organize and support inferences.
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Outlines the philosophy of the Principia Cybernetica Project — a movement towards the transdisciplinary unification of the domain of systems theory and cybernetics.
Abstract
Outlines the philosophy of the Principia Cybernetica Project — a movement towards the transdisciplinary unification of the domain of systems theory and cybernetics.
This communication is published in two parts. The author believes that a new domain, emerging from the cybernetics and systems tradition, is defined: complexity research. The…
Abstract
This communication is published in two parts. The author believes that a new domain, emerging from the cybernetics and systems tradition, is defined: complexity research. The study of this subject is motivated by the complexity of problems facing present‐day society, and the availability of new concepts and technologies. A conceptual framework for analysing complexity and self‐organising processes is outlined, and the fundamentals of an appropriate methodology are sketched. It is proposed that researchers working within this domain would associate by creating a network.
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Attention is drawn to an announcement of two publications relating to the work of Humberto Maturana, and to a new online encyclopedia of systems and cybernetics. The latter uses…
Abstract
Purpose
Attention is drawn to an announcement of two publications relating to the work of Humberto Maturana, and to a new online encyclopedia of systems and cybernetics. The latter uses Wikimedia technology for free interaction, and this is discussed. Advice on combating spyware and other forms of malware is reviewed, as well as surveys of how to make computers quieter in operation, and of the worrying question of when to switch off between periods of use.
Design/methodology/approach
The aim is to review developments on the internet, especially those of general cybernetic interest.
Findings
Some of the developments reported have research value, while others bear on practical aspects of computer use and internet access.
Practical implications
The comments on security may prompt urgent action by readers. Otherwise the implications are for access to information and for computer quietness and economy.
Originality/value
It is hoped this is a valuable periodic review.
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Selections from topics discussed on the CybCom list over a particularly active period in early 2006 are reviewed. These include the relevance of autopoiesis to sociology, courses…
Abstract
Purpose
Selections from topics discussed on the CybCom list over a particularly active period in early 2006 are reviewed. These include the relevance of autopoiesis to sociology, courses of instruction on cybernetics, cybernetics applied to social theory, the “ethical imperative” of von Foerster, and Günther's “polylogic”. Other lists on the internet are also described.
Design/methodology/approach
The aim is to review developments on the internet, especially those of general cybernetic interest.
Findings
The relevance of autopoiesis to sociology is dubious; various courses of instruction exist but cyberneticians should try to enhance visibility; information flows in social systems have useful correspondence to those in living organisms; the “ethical imperative” is not a universal rule; “polylogic” is of interest but not yet embodied in a working computer.
Practical implications
The CybCom list, and others mentioned, are valuable sources of stimulating material.
Originality/value
It is hoped this is a valuable periodic review.
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The human system is developing into a global biocultural superorganism. However, in the process of aligning a stable global goal state, contemporary human control systems appear…
Abstract
Purpose
The human system is developing into a global biocultural superorganism. However, in the process of aligning a stable global goal state, contemporary human control systems appear to be inadequate structures. The purpose of this paper is to help humanity contextualize the nature of our highest control systems and guide future structural control system decisions, by proposing the application of an Information-Energy Metasystem Model (IEMM).
Design/methodology/approach
IEMM is an evolutionary-cybernetic model built with biological, anthropological, and historical data, and constructed utilizing two cybernetic theories: metasystem transition theory and control information theory (CIT). The IEMM suggests that major control transitions are dependent on specific information-energy control and feedback properties.
Findings
Throughout our evolutionary history humans have stabilized three distinct metasystems in the general organization of bands/tribes stabilized by language-hunting feedback, chiefdoms/kingdoms stabilized by writing-agricultural feedback, and nation-states stabilized by printing press-industrial feedback. In the future, IEMM predicts that new global (or “glocal”) controls based on the internet as an information medium, and renewable energy as an engine for stabilization, could potentially generate a fourth metasystem. However, this is largely dependent on our own ability and willingness for fundamental structural control innovation.
Originality/value
This is the first paper to analyze the contemporary control system structure within the context of the whole of human evolution.
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The purpose of this paper is to mention a set of suggestions for analysing the current financial crisis, but with reservations about the usefulness of one based on Ashby's…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to mention a set of suggestions for analysing the current financial crisis, but with reservations about the usefulness of one based on Ashby's principle of requisite variety. The reservations are supported by reference to a mechanism of chemotaxis in bacteria. A recent publication concerning the Gaia hypothesis and global warming is reviewed.
Design/methodology/approach
The aim is to review developments on the internet, especially those of general cybernetic interest.
Findings
The significance of complexity, in government and management, is not disputed, but doubts are expressed about validity of laws that are purported to treat it quantitatively. A pessimistic view of world future is due to James Lovelock, the originator of the Gaia hypothesis, though there is some reason to believe he is more hopeful than is suggested in an interview.
Practical implications
The reservations about Ashby's treatment of complexity are essentially theoretical and do not negate findings based on its robust and imprecise application. Lovelock indicates a means of saving the Earth from disastrous climate change but has little hope that it will be implemented.
Originality/value
It is hoped this is a valuable periodic review.
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A recent discussion on the CybCom discussion list is reviewed, making a comparison of views of information due to Bateson and Shannon. The discussion extends to theories involving…
Abstract
Purpose
A recent discussion on the CybCom discussion list is reviewed, making a comparison of views of information due to Bateson and Shannon. The discussion extends to theories involving cellular automata and their relationship, as well as that of mathematics in general, to the real world. A recent suggestion that messages from extraterrestrials may be coded in DNA is discussed.
Design/methodology/approach
The aim is to review developments on the internet, especially those of general cybernetic interest.
Findings
The discussion is essentially philosophical and thought‐provoking.
Practical implications
A passing reference is made to methods for pattern recognition, and to the Bremermann limit with its bearing on ultimate computing capability. Attitudes to information exchange have a bearing on sociological theories, and behaviour of cellular automata is claimed to model communication between bacteria. The final note on extraterrestrial communication via DNA may redirect activity in the search for such communication and is evidence of an increasingly liberal attitude to scientific publication.
Originality/value
It is hoped this is a valuable periodic review.