Systems, Cybernetics and Complexity: Advancing the Systems Movement Stuart A. Umpleby President of the Executive Committee International Academy for Systems and Cybernetic Sciences

The current state of our fields (advantages) Several journals that are prospering An increasing number of books are being published There is interest in the field abroad The large systems program of the Open University in UK New, seemingly similar fields are being created – informing science, scientonomy

The current state of our fields (disadvantages) People do not know what cybernetics means People confuse cybernetics with computer science and AI No regular government funds for cybernetics research Very few educational programs in cybernetics (mostly abroad) Little interest in the unification of science

Stories being told about our fields In the last few years I have heard several people say that systems science and cybernetics have died They have been succeeded by the field of complexity which includes everything that was of value in those two fields and complexity has gone farther However, what I see is that associations, journals and conferences in systems and cybernetics are continuing, even increasing Associations, journals, and conferences in complexity have been added The questions being asked and the methods being used are different in systems, cybernetics, complexity

Three Neighboring Fields 1 Cybernetics Systems Complexity Origin of the field Macy Conferences, 1946- 1953, American Society for Cybernetics founded, 1964 An informal meeting within the 1954 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Berkeley, California 1984, Santa-Fe Institute founded (first meeting 1985) Early authors W. McCulloch, N. Wiener, A. Rosenblueth, M. Mead, G. Bateson, H. von Foerster, H. Maturana Ludwig von Bertalanffy, K.E. Boulding, Anatol Rapoport, James G. Miller, Ralph Gerard, Jay Forrester, Edwards Deming M. Gell-Mann, G. West, R. Axtell, B. Arthur, J. Holland, S. Kauffman, S. Wolfram Definition of field Describe control and communication in animals, machines and social systems; create a science of purposeful systems Identify the common features of systems. A living system processes matter, energy, and information. It evolves over time and adapts to its environment New entities and patterns of behavior emerge when many agents interact and adapt to each other and their environments Purpose Create a science of perception, regulation, learning, adaptation, goal formulation, and understanding Create a general theory of systems and a variety of approaches to systems analysis Identify the unseen mechanisms and processes that shape evolving worlds

Three Neighboring Fields 2 Cybernetics Systems Complexity Methods Three fundamental models describe 1) regulation, 2) self-organization, and 3) reflexivity Systems engineering, system dynamics,  causal loop diagrams, flow diagrams, process improvement methods Rigorous logical, mathematical, computational methods A key question How does the brain understand the world and itself? How can we create self-governing societies? How can we create a reflexive science? What are the structures and processes in living systems? What is essential for life? How do order and novelty emerge in the world? Internal mechanisms Reflexivity operates on two levels – observing and participating Miller's 19 critical subsystems -- e.g. input       transducer for information, ingestor for matter- energy, decoder, encoder, matter-energy  storage, reproducer, supporter, transporter, etc.; These processes occur on 8 levels: cell, organ, organism, group, organization, nation, supranational system, world Increases in complexity require two processes: creating new variety and selecting appropriate variety; Describe the rules governing how agents interact

Three Neighboring Fields 3 Cybernetics Systems Complexity Locus of contribution Extensions of philosophy Share theories and methods for analyzing systems with other disciplines Extensions of mathematics How science advances Expand the realm of inquiry by adding a new dimension  Identify instances of processes such as evolution, adaptation, cognition Find the underlying mechanisms of emergence Conception of Cognition Cognition is one aspect of autopoiesis Cognition is a perception and decision process in living systems Cognition emerges in some biological processes Conception of Complexity Complexity lies in multiple conceptualizations of a system of interest which are created by people who have an interest in that system and its affect on the world Complexity lies in the system observed Complexity emerges in some systems as a result of the interactions among elements in the system

What future do we want? Do we want systems science and cybernetics to continue? Should these fields be subsumed under complexity? How should the fields be described on college campuses? Can the three fields cooperate on conferences and curricula? The Academy (www.iascys.org) is beginning to include complexity scholars

Trends that support attention to our fields Increasing interest in climate change and its consequences Concern about growing numbers of refugees Concern about loss of species and habitats Preparations for more frequent storms and floods and rising sea level Continuing interest in communicating across disciplines The continuing growth of the internet Increasing use of AI and data analytics Interest in the unification of science

Problems we need to work on More educational programs in systems and cybernetics are needed More young people are needed to learn and extend the work that has been done Our fields are not well-known

Contact information Stuart A. Umpleby, Professor Emeritus Department of Management The George Washington University Washington, DC 20052 USA blogs.gwu.edu/umpleby umpleby@gmail.com

A presentation at the annual meeting of the International Society for the Systems Sciences Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada June 27 - July 2, 2019