American Society for Cybernetics

The American Society for Cybernetics (ASC) is an American non-profit scholastic organization for the advancement of cybernetics as a science , a discipline, a meta-discipline and the promotion of cybernetics as basis for an interdisciplinary discourse. The society does this by developing and applying cybernetics’ concepts which are presented and published via its conferences and peer-reviewed publications. As a meta-discipline, it creates bridges between disciplines, philosophies, sciences, and arts.[1]

American Society for Cybernetics (ASC)
Founded1964
FoundersJohn J. Ford (CIA), Paul S. Henshaw (AEC), Douglas E. Knight (IBM), Robert Livingston (scientist), Donald N. Michael, William C. Moore (lawyer), and Walter N. Munster.
TypeProfessional Organization
FocusCybernetics
Location
Area served
USA, worldwide
MethodConferences, Publications, Website.
Key people
Paul Pangaro (current president)
Websitehomepage

In order to do so it holds conferences and seminars, and maintains contacts with cyberneticians and organizations for cybernetics in other countries. Further activities of the ASC are:

  • ASC Glossary on Cybernetics and Systems Theory[2]
  • Disciplinary Matrices in Cybernetics and Systems Science[3]
  • Wiener and McCulloch awards

The American Society for Cybernetics was founded in 1964 in Washington, DC to encourage new developments in cybernetics as an interdisciplinary field with Warren McCulloch as first elected president of the ASC.[4] In the 1980s ASC became a member of the International Federation for Systems Research, and begin 1990s supported the Principia Cybernetica Project. Since 1995 the home office for the ASC is located at the George Washington University.

The ASC has been maintaining an editorial column in the interdisciplinary Cybernetics and Human Knowing Journal since its first issue in 1992. Rodney Donaldson was the first ASC president to write for the column.

Annual Cybernetics Symposia

First Annual Cybernetics Symposium

The First Annual Cybernetics Symposium of the ASC was held on 26-7 October, 1967 at the National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, Maryland. The theme was "Purposive Systems: The Edge of Knowledge."[5] The following people made presentations:[6]

  • Saul Amarel: "Problems of representation in artificial intelligence"
  • Nikolai Amosov: "Simulation of thinking processes"
  • Herbert Anschütz: "Prospects for the development of the psychocybernetics of intelligent behavior"
  • Yehoshua Bar-Hillel: "The future of man-machine languages"
  • Alexander S. Fraser: "The evolution of purposive behavior"
  • Ralph Gerard: "The neurophysiology of purposive behavior"
  • Jerrier A. Haddad: "Hardware for purposive systems"
  • David Hawkins: "The nature of purpose"
  • Margaret Mead: "Cybernetics of Cybernetics"
  • Emmanuel G. Mesthene: "How technology will shape the future"
  • Talcott Parsons: "Facilitating technological innovation in society"
  • Frederick Seitz: "The Challenge"[5]
  • Ivan Sutherland: "Facilitating the man-machine interface"

ASC Presidents

Wiener and McCulloch awards

The "Wiener Medal in Cybernetics" is an annual award by the American Society for Cybernetics in recognition of outstanding achievements or contributions in the field of cybernetics.[7] Since 2005 the award has been redefined to recognize achievements and contributions from younger scholars and researchers working in cybernetics or with applications of cybernetics.[7] Recipients of the Wiener and McCulloch awards:

References
  1. ASC By-Laws. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  2. ASC Glossary. Retrieved 8 June 2008.
  3. Disciplinary Matrices in Cybernetics and Systems Science. Retrieved 8 June 2008.
  4. HISTORY OF THE ASC. Retrieved 8 June 2008.
  5. "ASC's First Annual Symposium ls a Resounding Success" (PDF) (Vol. 1- No 1 January 1968). American Society for Cybernetics. ASC News. 1968.
  6. Purposive systems; proceedings of the first annual symposium of the American Society for Cybernetics. OCLC. 1969. OCLC 21901.
  7. ASC Awards. Retrieved 8 June 2008.
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