Cybernetics is a scientific specialty that establishes a comparison between the functioning of a living being and that of a machine.
Cybernetics is a term that can be used as a noun or as an adjective . In the first case, it refers to the scientific specialty that compares the operation of a machine and that of a living being , especially in relation to communication and regulation mechanisms.
As an adjective, cybernetics refers to that linked to virtual reality and that which was produced or is controlled through a computer ( computer ).
Communication and control functions are internal and external phenomena of the systems. In the case of living beings, they are part of their natural capabilities . By studying these functions, cybernetics experts managed to imitate certain facets of the functioning of living organisms in different types of machines.
The birth of cybernetics
Cybernetics, as a science , began to develop in the early 1940s . The progress of computing , information technology , programming and robotics is linked to this field of studies.
Specifically, the birth of the science known as "cybernetics" took place in 1942, and the pioneers in the field were Arturo Rosenblueth Stearns and Norbert Wiener . Later, in 1950, an American mathematician named Ben Laposky created the concept of electronic abstractions through an analog computer; In short, it was about the manipulation of waves for their recording in electronic media.
Virtual reality is part of the field of cybernetics.
artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is another of the great topics that experienced significant growth during the 1950s, in this case at the hands of William Ross Ashby , a British doctor and neurologist. This concept can be defined in a few words as the intelligence exhibited by a machine, thanks to which it is able to perceive its environment and make certain decisions that increase its chances of success in carrying out its tasks.
One of the great confusions that this concept usually arouses is the idea that artificial intelligence is synonymous with "computers that act infallibly"; Although one of the objectives of cybernetics is to ensure that machines carry out highly complex activities with the lowest possible error rate, it also seeks to replicate the characteristics of human beings in robots, and at that point intelligence must admit a certain margin of error to reflect "naturalness."
Control theory, feedback and cybernetics
The theory of control or automatic regulation is among the pillars of cybernetics. It is based on the control of a specific state of a process (making a temperature or speed remain stable and constant, for example). Another important concept is that of feedback : a proportion of a system output is redirected back to the input for behavioral control.
The concept of feedback, which is also known as feedback , is one of the most important in the framework of cybernetics. In biology, economics, architecture and engineering, among other complex systems, we can also see examples of feedback. It is based on the administrative process , according to which a quantitative and qualitative stage is allocated to control , to support planning.
In short, cybernetics is based on feedback for the development of control systems . Through cybernetics, to cite one case, it is possible to program machines to carry out certain repetitive jobs.
It is relevant to emphasize that the technological revolution that we are witnessing today arose largely thanks to the development of cybernetics. Among the most important names in this field are John von Neumann (mathematician who made essential contributions to quantum physics), Alan Turing (scientist considered one of the precursors of modern computing) and the aforementioned Norbert Wiener (who coined the term "cybernetics").