5. International Conference for
Design and Philosophy »New Cybernetics«

Neue Kybernetik und Gesellschaft

My talk will explore the question of whether the approach of New Cybernetics has implications for social theory. Maturana argued that the theory of autopoiesis was only valid in the field of biology and therefore could not be applied to society. Luhmann, on the other hand, attempted to establish systems theory as a theory of society. Luhmann’s systems theory, which is based on the central role of communication for society, is oriented towards the stability and preservation of the system. Contemporary society, however, is characterized by a profound ecological and political crisis that poses significant challenges. From this perspective, a continuation of the status quo seems impossible and fundamental change is imperative. In systems theory and second-order cybernetics, however, approaches can be identified that are groundbreaking for understanding society and conceiving a new social theory. I will discuss these approaches in my talk.

Hyun Kang Kim is Professor of Design Philosophy and Aesthetics at the Peter Behrens School of Arts at the University of Applied Sciences Düsseldorf. She studied German Studies and Philosophy at Yonsei University in Seoul, the University of Düsseldorf and the University of Bonn. She received her Ph.D. in German Studies from the University of Bonn in 2004 and habilitated in Philosophy at the University of Bonn in 2014. Her research focuses on aesthetics, philosophy of design, philosophy of media, philosophy of technology, philosophy of modernity, contemporary philosophy and political philosophy.

Current publications: Die Politik des Realen. Bild, Gewalt und Subjekt in der Philosophie Walter Benjamins, Paderborn 2024; Form follows Data. Design in der digitalen Ära (ed.), Paderborn 2023; Der unfertige Mensch und seine Technik, in: Luca Viglialoro, Oliver Ruf (eds.): Figurationen des Mangels in Ästhetik, Design- und Kunstpraktiken, Berlin 2025.

»Eine monströse unnatürliche Intelligenz«. Kybernetik, Mathematik, Dekonstruktion

Als »monströse, unnatürliche Intelligenz« bezeichnete Lee Sedol, der koreanische Großmeister des Go-Spiels, das KI Programm AlphaGo nach seiner Niederlage gegen es. Offensichtlich unterschied sich die Art der von der KI durchgeführten Aktionen von menschlichen Spielzügen, denn die KI operiert mit mathematischen Wahrscheinlichkeiten, Feedback-Schleifen und Optimierungen, die in ihrer unerbittlichen Konsequenz dem menschlichen Denken fremd gegenüberzustehen schienen. Der Vortrag weitet den Befund auf das, gleichermaßen an mathematischen Theorien (Modellierung von zyklischen Kausalitäten, Entropiesatz, spieltheoretischen Theoremen, sich selbstverstärkenden Lernmodellen oder graphentheoretisch beschreibbaren Netzwerken usw.) orientierte kybernetische Denken aus und fragt nach der spezifischen Inkommensurabilität zwischen Strukturen sozialer Beziehung und Systemtheorie, Kommunikationsprozessen und maschineller Interaktion sowie humaner und künstlicher Intelligenz. Die Grundfrage richtet sich darauf, inwieweit sich Formen von Denken und Sozialität überhaupt mathematisch darstellen lassen.

Dieter Mersch, Prof. Dr. em. für ästhetische Theorie und ehemaliger Leiter des Instituts für Theorie an der Zürcher Hochschule der Künste sowie zwischen 2018-2021 Präsident der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Ästhetik. Mitherausgeber des Internationalen Jahrbuchs für Medienphilosophie. Arbeitsschwerpunkte: Medienphilosophie, Philosophische Ästhetik, Kunstphilosophie, Bildtheorie, Musikphilosophie und Philosophie des 20. und 21. Jahrhunderts.

Letzte Publikationen: Epistemologien des Ästhetischen, Berlin/Zürich 2015, zusammen mit Silva Henke, Nicolaj van der Meulen, Thomas Strässle und Jörg Wiesel das Manifest der künstlerischen Forschung. Eine Verteidigung gegen ihre Verfechter, Zürich 2019. Im Erscheinen ist Kann KI Kunst? Kritik künstlicher Kreativität (Köln 2025).

Ästhetische Kybernetik

Die Mediengeschichte der Kybernetik ist auch eine Geschichte des Ästhetischen. Ihre Historiographie lässt sich mithin verfolgen und auch wissenschaftsgenealogisch zentrieren. Dabei handelt es sich jedoch nicht um eine stringent oder sogar epochal voranschreitende Entwicklung als vielmehr um die Abfolge bestimmter kybernetisch zu nennender Gegenwärtigkeiten, in die die Frage des Ästhetischen buchstäblich immer schon eingeschrieben ist. Durch sie bildet sich schließlich der Reflexionskontext einer expliziten Medienästhetik heraus, die letztlich auf den Diskurs (neuer?) ‚Cyber‘-Ästhetiken hinausläuft. Der Vortrag versucht, diese These herzuleiten, archäologisch zu diskutieren und theoretisch – kurz – zu exemplifizieren.

Prof. Dr. Oliver Ruf ist Forschungsprofessor für Medienästhetik, Principal Investigator und Co-Sprecher des Rhine Ruhr Center for Science Communication Research (RRC) des KWI Essen, der TU Dortmund, der Universität Bonn und der Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg in Kooperation mit dem Science Media Center Germany und der Wissenschaftspressekonferenz, gefördert von der VolkswagenStiftung. Schwerpunkte: Ästhetiken gegenwartsbezogener Medienpraktiken, Theorien insbes. digitaler Medien, Design- und Medienarchäologie, Kulturtechnikforschung und Intermedialitätsdiskurse, ästhetische (Wissenschafts-)Kommunikation.

Jüngere und kommende Buchveröffentlichungen (Auswahl): Studienkurs Medienästhetik. Baden-Baden: Nomos, i.V.; (Mitverf.) Interface Studies. Eine Einführung. Tübingen: UTB, i.V.; (Hg.) Ästhetik der Geste. Eine Medientheorie nach Vilém Flusser. Weilerswist: Velbrück, 2025; (Mithg.) Figurationen des Mangels in Ästhetik, Design- und Kunstpraktiken. Stuttgart: Metzler, 2025; (Mithg.) TV populär. Zur Wissensgeschichte einer Fernsehform. Göttingen: V&R, 2024; (Mitverf.) Medienkulturwissenschaft. Eine Einführung. Wiesbaden: Springer VS, 2022; (Mithg.) Technik-Ästhetik. Zur Theorie techno-ästhetischer Realität. Bielefeld: transcript, 2022; Die digitale Universität. Wien: Passagen, 2021.

The Hand Speaks: Operation as the Locus of the Knowledge Economy

Multifaceted presentation of the recursive-modelling-language, Qiuy and its approach at twinning demarcation with interfaces through annotative notations.
Given the conference containing a wide range of disciplines, particular attention will be made to emphasize Qiuy's roots containing avant garde theory (notably free-improvisation and approaches emanating from John Cage). The talk will articulate how as a young man these explorations of form and performance were instrumental as a perspective on systems (relative to original social science training). Moreso, this is pertinent given early exposure to eGovernment (20 years ago).
In addition to conventions of explaining Qiuy's structures and usecases, the use of its notations shall be considered (like abstract musics) as a means of breaking down silos and providing a means of communication across and between heterogenous environments. This is explicitly in order to help reclaim artisan methods within the domains of information and knowledge management. As an adjunct, the ideas around perspective; constraints; and memory shall be considered - covering these as distinctions within music and how this is parallelled within Qiuy's domain. This includes both operator behaviours inside a knowledge-management environment and how mechanisation concerning Qiuy shall mature over time.
Through being able to provide a more holistic discourse on Qiuy, the performative qualities from Qiuy's design principles will be able to be better understood as an expression of general utility.

Jonathan McHugh has extensively explored the relationship between syntax and semantics and how they relate to workflows and procedures. His perspectives on systems (whether human or technological) has permitted him autonomy and discretion concerning tooling; methodology; and orientation.
The first part of his career was as a technologist advising the future development of civil; welfare; and cultural technologies for UK and pan European entities. The second part is more coding orientated (usually with the monkier, Indieterminacy), additionally with the emphasis on ground up initiatives:

• Social-coding and hackerspace movements;
• Declarative and logic programming;
• Reproducible and minimalistic computing;
• Future internet protocols such as Gemini protocol (including for kanban boards (funded by the EU via NLNet)) and fediverse technologies.

Jonathan is perhaps best known for his broad range of volunteering activities surrounding Fosdem, as well as his (infamous) talks the last 4 years in the Declarative and Minimalistic Computing Devroom. While not impactful, his sound art work has included reviewing the Glastonbury and Edinburgh Festivals for the Guardian using field recordings. In addition to (once regular) DJing, his production work has included a musique concrete album and paid commissions. Student (music) journalism permitted many advancements in perspectives - given the chance to interview greats such as Derek Bailey; Alvin Lucier; Otomo Yoshihide; and Steve Beresford.

Chemical Organization Theory as a Unifying Framework for Self-Organizing Systems Modeling

This presentation explores Chemical Organization Theory (COT) as a powerful framework for representing and analyzing complex self-organizing systems within and beyond disciplines. We first characterize the phenomena of complex interdisciplinary systems through a series of concepts such as feedback, self-organization and emergence. Next, we demonstrate how to represent general systems as reaction networks and how COT effectively bridges concepts from cybernetics to conceptualize systems as a hierarchy of organizations. Through concrete examples, we illustrate how this approach reveals fundamental principles of self-organization, autopoiesis, and agency in both biological and artificial systems. We conclude by discussing how the design of artificial self-organizing systems can be conceived as a pedagogical tool.

Associate professor at the Mathematics Department, Universidad Tecnologica Metropolitana, Chile, and Senior Researcher at the Centre Leo Apostel, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium. PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies, a MSc in computer science, B.Sc in mathematics and B.Sc physics. Expert in mathematical modeling of interdisciplinary phenomena with special emphasis on Complex Adaptive Systems and Cognitive Science. He has 50+ publications in scientific journals, where he has developed theoretical advances and modeling in a wide range of areas ranging from pure mathematics to biology to social sciences, as well as proposed novel philosophical stands in both quantum theory and complex systems theory. He is additionally the founder and director of the Foundation for the Interdisciplinary Development of Science, Technology and Arts a foundation based in Chile which collaborates with several institutions and professionals around the world for the generation and dissemination of integrated knowledge, and the development of projects with social impact.

Performance

Born and raised in Osaka in 1982.
Lives and works in Dusseldorf, Germany since 2009.
He mainly performs solo performances in which he layers electric guitars on electronic devices, composes music for dance and theater, and creates sounds for installations.
Synthesizing the electric guitar, he creates his original soundscapes by altering the conventional electric guitar tone.
He creates ambient, experimental, and electronica works that are difficult to categorize stylistically.

Since 2020, Shunsuke Oshio has released two solo albums. Last year he began working on film music.

Video links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kSrLq0cTSI | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKeB0vG8OHs | https://vimeo.com/613573671
Film Soundtrack: https://vimeo.com/917252725

Retagieren in der Neuen Kybernetik

Was bedeutet Navigation in einer Welt, die ein Netz ist? In seinem Vortrag geht Christian Jendreiko dieser Frage nach – und spielt mit dem Gedanken, den Begriff des Navigierens durch den Begriff des Retagierens zu ersetzen.

Christian Jendreiko ist Professor im Fachbereich Design und im ZDD der Hochschule Düsseldorf. Sein Forschungsschwerpunkt ist die Arbeit an seinem Konzept der Generative Logic. Er ist Mitglied im Hochschulrat der HSD und Mitglied im Vorstand des ZDD. Er ist Mitglied der Prolog Education Group sowie der Systemic Modeling and Application Group, die an der Freien Universität in Brüssel beheimatet ist. Eine Reihe seiner akustischen Arbeiten finden sich in der Sammlung des Museé d’Art Moderne, Centre Pompidou, Paris.

»When Old Cybernetics Was New« – Edward Bellamy’s Protocybernetic State in the Nineteenth Century

Although the beginnings of cybernetics are often dated to the post-war period in connection with Norbert Wiener's influential book, numerous traces of feedback thinking can be found as early as the 19th century (and even in the 18th century), combined with corresponding (imagined) control techniques. Using 1889 as a starting point, I would like to analyze concepts developed by Edward Bellamy in his (utopian) novels Looking Backwards 2000-1887 and later Equality (1897) which are connected to what James Beniger termed the 'control revolution'. A close analysis of his political metaphors—drawn from mechanical imagery—will reveal proto-cybernetic state concepts of self-control and feedback akin to those later exemplified in Stafford Beer's Cybersyn project. On the one hand, these historical models can serve to critically examine often unquestioned premises, such as the 'dynamic equilibrium' even within New Cybernetics. On the other hand, certain metaphors suggest that contemporary thought already cast doubt on the idea of predetermined control mechanisms: Rather than an externally defined equilibrium, emergent (democratic) processes—characterized by an interplay between state officials and the political public—were envisioned. Ultimately, even these processes are not necessarily politically unproblematic.

Martin Doll is Professor of Societal, Ethical and Social Aspects of Digitality at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Cultural Studies at the University of Applied Sciences Düsseldorf, and he is researcher at the Centre for Digitalisation and Digitality Düsseldorf. He earned his doctorate from Goethe University Frankfurt with a focus on forgery and hoaxes. His academic path has included positions as a postdoctoral fellow at the ici Kulturlabor Berlin, a research associate in the ATTRACT project ‘Aesthetic Figurations of the Political’ at the University of Luxembourg, a Junior Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, and a visiting fellow at Yale University. His primary research interests include the intersections of politics and (digital) media —particularly the technicization of politics/politicization of technology since the 19th century—, digital ethics, media theories (of the digital), philosophy and media, audiovisual historiography, and global media studies.

Selected Works:

• Mediale Gegenwelten. Technologien der Emanzipation im 19. Jahrhundert. Bielefeld: transcript 2024, htps://doi.org/10.1515/9783839468630 (Open Access)
• »The Specters of (Sociotechnical) Imaginaries. Oppressed Futures of the Past«, in: Navigationen 23.2. (2023), S. 29–39
• »Utopias of Flow and Circulation in the 19th Century. A Media Archeology on the »Pile of Debris« of History.« in: Mathias Denecke, Holger Kuhn, Milan Stürmer (Hg.): Liquidity, Flows, Circulation. The Cultural Logic of Environmentalization, Zürich/Berlin: Diaphanes 2022, S. 99–118
• »Der Staat als automatisiertes Warenwirtschahssystem: Edward Bellamys utopischer Ausblick auf volkswirtschaftliche Planbarkeit im Jahr 2000«, in: Tobias Conradi, Florian Hoof u. Rolf Nohr (Hg.), Medien der Entscheidung, Berlin 2016, S. 47–66

For more information: www.mdoll.eu

Processed Material, the Hybrid Index and a Systems-Approach to Art. Holly Herndon’s Godmother

Machine learning based modelling can resynthesize the human voice, disconnect it from the body that produced the sonic data it was trained on and thereby change the function of the human index in a recording. Based on a reading of Holly Herndon’s Godmother, my contribution explains how generative audio reflects the role of recording in pop music and transforms one of its core features – the index – into a hybrid human-machine composite.
Because such composites can be generated indefinitely at seemingly no cost, the single instance of finalized media no longer marks the keystone of the art production process. Media output can no longer be considered the artwork itself and instead the art becomes one of system creation. The artwork is de-objectified and transformed into an environment or system.

Simon Waskow studied philosophy in Bonn and Chicago. His PhD dissertation on language and presentation in Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit was published in 2023. He is active in Cologne’s experimental music scene and has released several records and film scores. Currently, Simon teaches philosophy and aesthetics at Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences and studies transmedia composition at Robert Schumann Conservatory.

Sociology and Cybernetics: Communication and Control of Lack of Control

The contribution explores the evolution of the concept of control in social systems theory, particularly through the contributions of Wiener, Maturana, von Foerster, and Luhmann. It traces the shift from the classical notion of control as reduction of the difference between output and goal to a cybernetic idea of control based on memory and system self-regulation. In this approach, system flexibility and adaptability are central, surpassing the rigidity of teleological planning. Control thus emerges as management of complexity and anticipatory memory.

Elena Esposito is Professor of Sociology at Bielefeld University and the University of Bologna. She has published extensively on the theory of society, media theory, memory theory and the sociology of financial markets. Her current research on algorithmic prediction is supported by a five-year Advanced Grant from the European Research Council (PREDICT). Her latest books are Artificial Communication. How Algorithms Produce Social Intelligence (2022); Kommunikation mit unverständlichen Maschinen (2024).

»Sound Traces in the Grid« — works by Christian Banasik

Irene Kurka - voice
Christian Banasik - electronics

»Sound Traces in the Grid« was curated for the »New Cybernetics« congress and consists of six different pieces stemming from various projects and questions explored in recent years. Both the singing and speaking voice (Irene Kurka) are featured in conjunction with electronics. The program includes segments whose material is based on music theatre concepts developed in public spaces (»voices from below«) or that reference the concrete poetry of Eugen Gomringer (»I see a voice«). Two works involve the use of AI as a poetic and compositional/production assistant (»to be continued" and »one afternoon«), while another piece draws on personal ads from the New York Times and their virtual voices as the driving force of sound creation »I am«). A further source of inspiration has been the elaboration of the oldest known musical fragment preserved in its entirety—with both text and musical notation (»Inscription 3 – Seikilos Epitaph«). The diversity and historical span of these source materials underline the potential of abstract generation and concrete realization as part of a new, overarching aesthetic layer. The foundational ideas behind the compositional, structural, and sonic organization of these works can be understood as an interaction between the chosen source material and its translation into a matrix I generate—consisting of sound, motif, context, and form. In some phases of the work (though never for an entire form), algorithmically driven or self-generative processes are employed. However, these are never an end in themselves; they serve as assistants—integrated elements within a broader creative process.

Christian Banasik is a Dusseldorf based composer and lecturer. He studied composition and Live Electronics at Robert Schumann University of Music and Media in Dusseldorf, Computer Music at University of Music and Dance in Cologne, postgraduate studies at Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts. Banasik has developed his first algorithmic composition software (AFSTS 1) for the Atari ST Computers from 1991-1993. His instrumental and electronic works have been featured in festivals throughout Europe as well as in the Americas, Asia, Africa and Australia. Banasik is lecturer for Audio Visual Design (media composition / sound) at University for Applied Sciences / Peter Behrens School of Arts / Design. 2017-2022 he was part of the »die digitale düsseldorf« festival. Since 2019 he has been a member of the New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival review team. 2023, jury member GNM / ISCM World New Music Days 2023 in South Africa and 2024, jury GNM / ISCM WNMD 2024 on Faroe Islands. Beside live electronics, audio visual works and chamber music he has produced fixed media works, radio plays, music theater and film soundtracks.

Performance

Irene Kurka, Sopranistin, Autorin und Podcasterin, zählt zu jenen Persönlichkeiten, die dem heutigen Musikleben innovative Impulse geben. Sie ist als tiefgründige, wandlungsfähige und hingebungsvolle Interpretin insbesondere der zeitgenössischen Musik international bekannt. Zahlreiche Komponisten schrieben und widmeten ihr Stücke, nicht zuletzt für CD- und Rundfunkaufnahmen. Mittlerweile hat sie über 340 Uraufführungen gesungen. Als aufmerksame Beobachterin, nicht nur der »Neuen« Musik-Szene, gibt sie ihren reichen Erfahrungsschatz in dem Podcast »neue musik leben«, der weltweit gehört wird, und den dazugehörigen Büchern weiter. Irene Kurka wurde mit mehreren Preisen und Stipendien ausgezeichnet, unter anderem mit dem Förderpreis für Musik der Stadt Düsseldorf.

As an interpreter of new music, Irene Kurka is an internationally sought-after singer for concerts and stage productions. Numerous composers (such as Eggert, Corbett, Weeks, Muntendorf, Pisaro, Fox, Weeks, Vantzou, Seither, Beuger, Brass, Frey, and other) have written works for and dedicated to her, including works written for CD and radio productions. To date, she has sung over 340 world premieres.

In April 2018 she succesfully started the first independent podcast for new music: »neue musik leben«, cooperating with the nmz (Neue Musikzeitung). German and English episodes are listened to worldwide. Based on her podcast she published three books with »ARE Edition«.

Irene curates »Irene kurka lädt ein: Future Singing« in Duesseldorf since 2021 among other projects like »Play on demand«, »Metropolitan 1-3«.

Since March 2025 she is the host of the monthly Show »Live your music and live your live« on KOWS Radio Summit 92.5 California.

Concerts with Hezarfen Ensemble Istanbul, musikFabrik, notabu, Wandelweiser, Ensemble Garage. She performed at Tonhalle Düsseldorf, GRM Radio France Paris, Konzerthaus Berlin, IGNM Basel, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, L’auditori Barcelona, Theater Dortmund, Arte Biennale Venedig, Musica Sacra Maastricht, Cité Internationale des Arts Paris, Acht Brücken – Musik für Köln, Cafe Oto London, Counterflow Festival Glasgow, Muziek Biennale Niederrhein.