Second-order cybernetics thoroughly addresses information from a human perspective: “Information is, of course, the process by which knowledge is acquired, and knowledge is the processes that integrate past and present experiences to form n…Earlier in this chapter the idea that the primary motivation of the artist and the art-object is to connect with the audience was introduced, thereby engendering interaction and communication among artist, artwork, and audience (Ascott 2007…Shanken, E. (2007). Telematic embrace: Visionary theories of art, technology, and consciousness by Roy Ascott. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Shannon, C. (1949). The mathematical theory of communication. In C. Shannon & W. Weave…
Heinz von Foerster
scientist · 3 mentions across 1 reading
In this course
Heinz von Foerster was a physicist and philosopher who developed second-order cybernetics, a self-reflexive approach to systems theory that positions the observer as part of the system being observed rather than external to it. The course readings invoke his framework to theorize how information and knowledge emerge through feedback loops and interaction—central to understanding how art and technology create meaning through participation rather than transmission. His work bridges the technical foundations of cybernetics with humanistic concerns about consciousness and communication, making him essential to the seminar's project of connecting machine systems to aesthetic and social experience.
Mentioned in 1 reading
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Roy Ascott 2Norbert Wiener 2Andrew Shanken 1José María Díaz Nafría 1Marcel Duchamp 1Beatrice Zics 1Carlos Vidales 1Claude Shannon 1Crispin Wania 1Graeme Sullivan 1Jenifer Tidwell 1Katherine McCain 1Leonard Shlain 1Margaret Atwood 1Nick Montfort 1Noah Wardrip-Fruin 1Paul Virilio 1Stephen Wright 1Victoria Vesna 1Warren Weaver 1Janet Bopry 1Michael Guddemi 1Raul Vidales 1Søren Brier 1