Project Cybersyn: An early attempt at IoT governance and how we can apply its learnings.
Doesn’t this image look like it came straight out of some 70’s sci-fi movie? This mysterious room, the chairs, the remote controls, all was a part of a real experiment in Chile called the “project Cybersyn”. Between 1971–1973, based on the vision of president Salvador Allende, a cybernetician named Stafford Beer worked on a revolutionary concept that resembled the modern-day Internet of Things.
Before moving forward, let me take a moment to explain what cybernetics is. The term “Cybernetics” comes from a Greek word meaning “the art of steering”. The steering signifies the use of feedback to reach a goal. Merriam Webster Dictionary defines Cybernetics as “the science of communication and control theory that is concerned especially with the comparative study of automatic control systems” This definition, though apt, presents Cybernetics as a purely technical domain. Stafford Beer, however, defines it as “The art of effective organization”. Following the thread of that philosophy, Beer focused on applying cybernetics to systems management.
In mid-1971 Allende government approached Beer for advice on applying his cybernetic theories to the management of the Chilean economy. From there, the project Cybersyn was born. The word “Cybersyn” came from a combination of the words “Cybernetics” and “Synergy”.
The Cybersyn System
- The problem:
By the end of 1971, the Allende government had taken control of more than one hundred and fifty enterprises but had no experience on how to manage them efficiently. To design a solution to this problem, Stafford Beer created a cybernetic model of Chile’s economy that captured a wholistic view of components of the economy and the connection of those components to each other. The solution to the problem was aimed at a system that would gather daily production data and predict future trends in economic behavior. - The system setup:
Coming back to the picture of the room - this room was an important part of the project and was meant to be used by high ranking officers. It was hexagonal in shape and contained telex machines, along with big screens on the wall. The room had seven chairs with controls attached to them along with liquor glass holders and ashtrays. The room was hexagonal so that all the stakeholders could see each other and communicate directly to make decisions. Seven stakeholders were expected to use the room because, in case of voting between two situations, the 7th person would cast a final vote. - The functioning of the system:
Katie Mingle, a producer at 99% Invisible describes the functioning of the Cybersyn system as per the following — “a telex is like a typewriter connected to a phone line. So if one factory had a telex, they could type out a message, and send it to another telex. The messages might contain data about shortages in raw material or how many workers were showing up to their shifts. This data would be entered into the computer and analyzed, and subsequently, decisions could be made about how to address problems.”
What is so special about “Project Cybersyn”?
The concept of this project was very similar to the modern-day Internet of Things. This effort was carried out in an era where neither the internet nor portable computers were functional.
Cybersyn designed a solution for effective communication and collaboration intended to drive efficient decision making — something that a lot of the organizations still struggle with. Project Cybersyn conceptualized the use of machine learning, where the system would analyze the patterns of production data and predict the future behaviors of the economy. That’s a genius thing to conceptualize in a non-internet era.
Applying the Cybersyn framework in the modern context
Let’s assume that the Cybersyn project was redeveloped in 2020, which made it an IoT driven AI system. How would that system work to solve a complex problem?
Speculated Problem: “9 key countries are on the verge of recession, driving fears the U.S. could follow” — The Washington Post
Here’s how the Cybersyn system would help in preventing this problem:
Part 1: Data collection and pattern analysis
1. The system would collect data of the global economy, politics and economics of countries heading towards recession
2. Map out the patterns of the economic behavior of the countries heading towards recession
3. Compare the US economy to those countries and analyze the place of the U.S. economy within the global economy
4. Based on the variables in the analyzed patterns, predict different scenarios that could impact the U.S. economy.
Part 2: Decision making
5. Invite 7 key decision-makers of the U.S. economic affairs in the Cybersyn room
6. Present the predicted patterns to them
7. The decision-makers will discuss each prediction and brainstorm to vote on the best-case scenario
8. The decision-makers would then feed their decision into the cybersyn system
9. The system would back-trace the origins of the scenario and suggest courses of action be taken to reach the desired state (the best case scenario)
10. The 7 decision-makers would again gather in the Cybersyn room and come up with a strategy to implement the plan to reach the desired state.
Conclusion
Project Cybersyn was a pioneer in conceptualizing the Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence. It used the cybernetic framework for problem-solving. In today’s world, we can find solutions to complex socio-economic issues by applying the cybersyn framework.
- KATIE MINGLE. (Oct 04, 2016). Project Cybersyn.
https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/project-cybersyn/ - EDEN MEDINA. (Apr 27, 2015). The Cybersyn Revolution.
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/04/allende-chile-beer-medina-cybersyn/ - PAUL PANGARO. “Getting Started” Guide to Cybernetics.
https://www.pangaro.com/definition-cybernetics.html - World Organization of Systems and Cybernetics
http://wosc.co/outstanding-contributors/stafford-beer/
