Automata CommunicationAmongst Automata_Foerster1962.pdfVIP

Communication Amongst Automata 1962 Heinz von Foerster BCL Fiche #90, #22–29 For those of us who are actively engaged in research if — for some reason or another — we are in principle concerned with systems of high complexity and who unable to reveal that hidden mechanism. Under these cir- think about their implementation and their future appli- cumstances we are forced to drop the “as if” in the above cation, it is quite obvious that today we are in the midst de?nition and we have a truly “free” system before us of an era which provides the ideal conditions for the which acts on its “own will.” It may, perhaps, amuse you fast evolution of the automaton with mind-like behavior. to note that Aristotle used the term “automaton” in the Thus, I appreciate very much the occasion to be permit- latter sense.2 I presume that a bad translation in the early ted to give you, the psychiatrist, a short report about these nineteenth century of the famous passage in “De Motu” developments, because — I believe — in not too distant a shifted its meaning to its weaker usage of today. future it will be the psychiatrists who will be confronted At this point you may rightly ask how such systems with problems arising from the interaction of man with can ever be built. Unfortunately, a tight proof of my as- his new baby, the “intelligent” automaton. sertion of the feasibility of such systems would take up Furthermore, I hope that the discussion of these new a one-semester seminar, thus, I hope you will believe me machines and their potentialities will give me an appro- if I can assure you that such systems can be built, if they priate vehicle to present some of the fundamental con- are made up of elementary components which ful?ll the cepts in an interaction process commonly referred to as following four conditions:3 “communication” concepts which, I believe, will hold for any communication process, whether it takes place 1. The elementary compon