Sun, Oct 17: ASC Speakers Series: New Books in Cybernetics Spotlight #1
Adler Looks Jorge 蔡鷹達 - ASC
Abstract
As part of the ongoing podcast series, New Books in Systems and Cybernetics, Tom Scholte interviews Alcibiades Malapi-Nelson about his book, The Nature of the Machine and the Collapse of Cybernetics: a philosophical exploration of the theoretical causes behind the collapse of classical cybernetics, as well as the lessons this history holds for the future of humanity.
About the book:
This book is a philosophical exploration of the theoretical causes behind the collapse of classical cybernetics, as well as the lesson that this episode can provide to current emergent technologies. Alcibiades Malapi-Nelson advances the idea that the cybernetic understanding of the nature of a machine entails ontological and epistemological consequences that created both material and theoretical conundrums. However, he proposes that given our current state of materials research, scientific practices, and research tools, there might be a way for cybernetics to flourish this time.
The book starts with a historical and theoretical articulation of cybernetics in order to proceed with a philosophical explanation of its collapse―emphasizing the work of Alan Turing, Ross Ashby and John von Neumann. Subsequently, Malapi-Nelson unveils the common metaphysical signature shared between cybernetics and emergent technologies, identifying this signature as transhumanist in nature. Finally, avenues of research that may allow these disruptive technologies to circumvent the cybernetic fate are indicated. It is proposed that emerging technologies ultimately entail an affirmation of humanity.
Participants Bios:
Alcibiades Malapi-Nelson currently teaches at the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Humber College and the School of Interdisciplinary Studies at Durham College. Alcibiades pursued studies in philosophy and theology in Latin America, and philosophy in French Canada and Toronto. He obtained a doctorate in philosophy from York University in 2015 and published his first book (Palgrave MacMillan) two years later. After being trained in the European (Continental) tradition, he focused on the Anglo-Analytical tradition of philosophy, ending up in an area that supersedes both: Philosophy of science. Within that field, he explored the consequences of using machine-based explanations in scientific theories, writing a dissertation on the philosophical reasons behind the implosion of classical cybernetics. Aware that the cybernetic mechanization of nature (including humanity) has resurfaced via the development of ‘Emerging/Converging Technologies’ (gene therapy, neural interfaces, synthetic biology, nanotechnology), he is now working on the consequences of such disruptive innovations for our biological, ethical and metaphysical understanding of what it means to be a human being.
Tom Scholte is an actor, writer, director, producer, and scholar of theatre and film. As Professor of Theatre and Film at the University of British Columbia, he investigates the cybernetics of the actor’s craft, the construction of meaning on stage and screen, and the use of interactive modes of Applied Theatre to model and rehearse interventions into complex social systems. He holds a BFA in Acting, an MFA in Directing, and is currently completing a doctorate in Systems Science at the University of Hull (UK).
ASC Speaker Series Team
American Society for Cybernetics