Diana Bang's ETEC 531 e-portfolio

When I read this question, Cyberdyne systems and the creation of Skynet from the Terminator movies initially came to mind as they utilized supercomputers to replace humans in the control of military operations. Here’s a link to more information about the film at: http://terminator.wikia.com/wiki/Cyberdyne_Systems.

However, one of the influential figures in coining the term cybernetics was Norbert Wiener (1948), a mathematician, engineer and social philosopher. It was derived from the Greek word kybernetes meaning “steersman.” Historically, the word cybernetics first appeared in Antiquity with Plato and the 19th century with Ampère who viewed it as “the science of effective government” (Heylighen & Joslyn, 2001). Yet, Wiener revived this concept and re-defined cybernetics as “the science of control and communication in the animal and the machine.” According to Ashby (1956) cybernetics is a theory of machines examining the ways of behaviours. Thus, instead of asking “what is this thing?” it asks “what does it do?” Additionally, Heylighen & Joslyn (2001) states that the distinguishing feature of cybernetics is its “emphasis on control and communication not only in engineered, artificial systems, but also in evolved, natural systems such as organisms and societies, which set their own goals, rather than being controlled by their creators.” Furthermore, Sadie Plant (1997) suggests that cybernetic systems possess feedback loops and “sense organs” (as cited in Murphie & Potts, 2003, p. 118).

References

Ashby, W. R. (1956). An introduction to cybernetics. London: Chapman & Hall Ltd. Retrieved from http://www-robotics.cs.umass.edu/~grupen/603/handouts/AshbyCybernetics.pdf

Heylighen, F., & Joslyn, C. (2001). Cybernetics and second-order cybernetics. In R. A. Meyers (Ed.). Encyclopedia of Physical Science & Technology (3rd ed.) (pp. 1-24). New York: Academic Press. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.27.9058&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Mindell, D.A. (2000). Cybernetics: Knowledge domains in engineering systems. Retrieved from http://web.mit.edu/esd.83/www/notebook/Cybernetics.PDF

Murphie, A., & Potts, J. (2003). Culture and techology. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

The George Washington University. (n.d). Definitions of cybernetics. Retrieved from http://www.gwu.edu/~asc/cyber_definition.html

Vallée, R. (2001). Nobert Wiener (1894-1964). Retrieved from http://www.isss.org/lumwiener.htm

Wiener, N. (1948). Cybernetics: Communication and control in animal and machine. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.