The comparative study of human and machine processes in order to understand their similarities and differences. It often refers to machines that imitate human behavior. The term was coined by Norbert Wiener (1894-1964), one of the great mathematicians of the 20th century. See AI and robot.
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2009 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- Neuroengineering to challenge what it means to be human
- sign me upI am definitely interested in any advantages I can be given through neural enhancement or cybernetics. Obviously early attempts to alter the brain will be less effective and will no doubt exhibit many flaws but even a dodgy upgrade is better than no upgrade if you are...
- Discussion threads 2009-09-13
- Snow Leopard gets battery forensics
- Replace Soon/Now. But *how*?Replace Soon/Now/Check. But how do you replace the battery? Oh, that's right, you have to pay Apple not only for the battery but also for the labor cost to replace it. Genius bar, indeed. Apple have figured a way to make money off support.Reminds me of Hitch-Hikers...
- Discussion threads 2009-08-31
- America loses its moral technologist: Michael Crichton
- Author, Producer and Director Michael Crichton, 1942-2008. Photo: Associated Press With election week and coverage of other events such as the Microsoft PDC and the latest Windows 7 builds, many of ZDNet's readers may be unaware that one of America's most...
- Blog posts 2008-11-06
- Ready for a CyberWalk?
- Even with recent improvements in virtual reality technology, it's still almost impossible to physically walk through virtual environments. Now, European researchers have started a project named CyberWalk and they'll demonstrate next week their omni-directional treadmill, named CyberCarpet. According to ICT Results, the researchers 'had to address five key issues: providing...
- Blog posts 2008-04-11
- Virtualization of Tape Storage
- Disk-based virtual tape backup devices, when combined with removable tape for archiving, are a particularly effective data protection strategy, delivering the very tangible benefits of both disk and tape for securing data efficiently and cost-effectively at all points in its lifecycle. This paper discusses the advantages of a D2D2T strategy...
- White papers 2008-01-01
- You have two cows...
- You have two cows...You have two cows... the cyberpunk version.Note: Unless you're familiar with cyberpunk literature and its themes, do not read this post.You have two cows, but don't like what they are. You want to improve then using cybernetics and biotechnology. You save a sample of...
- Discussion threads 2007-02-24
- On visiting the bookstore
- On visiting the bookstoreAlways a means to an endComputing in sci fi is usually incidental - to abuse the star trek communcator some more, it was just a tool used to enable crew communications; i.e. it was never about the thing.So is computing boring to sci fi? I hope so...
- Discussion threads 2006-12-21
- Cybernetics Approach to Sales Incentive Compensation Management
- This paper elaborates the cybernetics approach to understand Sales ICM, providing a 360 degree view of the same as a business system. It gives an insight into feedback loops that are crucial for the improvement, evolution and success of the Sales ICM system and provides a systematic approach to identify,...
- White papers 2006-10-06
- Off-topic: bring on the freak olympics
- Off-topic: bring on the freak olympicsRobot leagueScrew the bio-enhancements, I want to see robot armies squaring off against one another.Still, the question is one of where you draw the line. Players in days of yore didn't have access to proper nutrition, vitamins and exercise routines that we now...
- Discussion threads 2006-08-04
- Social media--the new growth hormone
- Social media--the new growth hormoneThere needs to be a social network for those of us who...who would not be a part of a social network. We'll call it GrouchoNet!cyberneticsThis kind of activity will boom along with the cybernetics industry, imagine knowing where some like-minded people are just by tapping...
- Discussion threads 2006-06-13
- Virtual reality gets comfy
- If you ever participated to some virtual reality VR experiments, you know that the environment is quite expensive and not always user-friendly. In fact, in some immersive environments, it's even possible to feel bad because of motion sickness. This is why researchers from Germany and Sweden have developed a new...
- Blog posts 2006-04-17
- Empty towns, packed graveyards
- When most people look at human settlement patterns over time, what they see is a history of transportation; but what I see is a parallel to the development of the computer industry. Settlement patterns reflect transaction costs for information and market exchanges, that's why markets started out walking distances...
- Blog posts 2006-03-10
- Virus warning: Cyborgs at risk
- Virus warning: Cyborgs at riskCute, but I wouldn't hold my breathI don't think cyborgs are going to be [i]that[/i] popular. Not in the current century, at least.Plus, Warwick's declaring that people who decide not to participate in cybernetics becoming a "subspecies" sounds suspiciously like he wants to re-introduce bigotry and...
- Discussion threads 2004-11-13
- Computer viruses could infect humans?
- Kevin Warwick, professor of cybernetics at Reading University in England, warns that computer viruses could infect humans... "We're looking at software viruses and biological viruses becoming one and the same....The security problems will be much, much greater....For those of you that want to stay human...you'll be a subspecies in the...
- Blog posts 2004-11-13
- System Shock 2 demo (Windows)
- System Shock 2 is the sequel to the award-winning original System Shock. It is 35 years after the destruction by an unnamed hacker of the TriOptimum-owned Citadel Station and Shodan, the rogue AI controlling it. TriOptimum scientists develop the theory for a faster-than-light starship drive, but the UNN is unwilling...
- Software downloads 1999-07-30
- Dark Colony demo (Windows)
- In the near-future world of Dark Colony, your mission is to finish the bitter war between a repulsive alien race and human colonists on planet Mars. Decide between humanity's superior robotics and cybernetics, and the frighteningly advanced genetic technology of the alien competition. This game features some of the impressive...
- Software downloads 1997-06-12
- Earthworm Jim demo (Windows)
- Assume the role of Earthworm Jim, a simple worm who is endowed with superhuman qualities when a high-tech, cybernetics space suit falls out of the sky and lands on him. Undertaking a quest to save Princess What's-Her-Name, players slip, slide, squirm, and crawl through a variety of wacky worlds. Traveling...
- Software downloads 1996-10-18
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