To controlforceaccurately under a wide range of behavioral conditions, the central nervous system would either require a detailed, continuously updated representation of the state of each muscle (and the load against which each is acting) or else force feedback with sufficient gain to cope with variations in the properties of the muscles and loads. The evidence for force feedback with adequate gain or for an appropriate central representation is not sufficient to conclude that force is the major controlled variable (...) in normal limb movements.Morton's hypothesis, thatlengthis controlled by a follow-up servo, has a number of difficulties related to the delays, gains, variability, and specificity in feedback pathways comprising potential servo loops. However, experimental evidence is consistent with these pathways providing servo assistance for some movements produced by coactivation of α- and static γ-motoneurons. Dynamic γ-motoneurons may provide an additional input for adaptive control of different types of movements.The idea that feedback is used to compensate for changes in musclestiffnesshas received experimental support under static postural conditions. However, reflexes tend to increase rather than decrease the range of variation in muscle stiffness during some cyclic movements. Theoretical problems associated with the regulation of stiffness are also discussed. The possibilities of separate control systems forvelocityorviscosityare considered, but the evidence is either negative or lacking. I conclude that different physical variables can be controlled depending on the type of limb movement required. The concept of stiffness regulation is also useful under some conditions, but should probably be extended to the regulation of the visco-elastic properties (i.e., the mechanical impedance) of a muscle or joint. (shrink)

In dynamic system control, cognitive mechanisms and abilities underlying performance may vary depending on the nature of the task. We therefore investigated the effects of system structure and its interaction with cognitive abilities on system control performance. A sample of 127 university students completed a series of different system control tasks that were manipulated in terms of system size and recurrent feedback, either with or without a cognitive load manipulation. Cognitive abilities assessed (...) included reasoning ability, working memory capacity, and cognitive reflection. System size and recurrent feedback affected overall performance as expected. Overall, the results support that cognitive ability is a good predictor of performance in dynamic system control tasks but predictiveness is reduced when the system structure contains recurrent feedback. We discuss this finding from a cognitive processing perspective as well as its implications for individual differences research in dynamic systems. (shrink)

The article brings to light the use of recommender systems as technologies of the self, complementing the observations in current literature regarding their employment as technologies of ‘soft’ power. User practices on the music recommendation website last.fm reveal that many users do not only utilize the website to receive guidance about music products but also to examine and transform an aspect of their self, i.e. their ‘music taste’. The capacity of assisting users in self-cultivation practices, however, is not unique to (...) last.fm but stem from certain properties shared by all recommendation systems. Furthermore, unlike other oft-studied digital/web technologies of the self which facilitate ‘self-publishing’ vis-à-vis virtual companions in social media, recommender algorithms themselves can act as ‘intimate experts’, accompanying users in their self-care practices. Thus, recommendation systems can facilitate both algorithmic control and creative self-transformation, which calls for a theorization of this new cultural medium as a space of tension. (shrink)

AI systems are bringing an augmentation of human capabilities to shape the world. They may also drag a replacement of human conscience in large chunks of life. AI systems can be designed to leave moral control in human hands, to obstruct or diminish that moral control, or even to prevent it, replacing human morality with pre-packaged or developed ‘solutions’ by the ‘intelligent’ machine itself. Artificial Intelligent systems (AIS) are increasingly being used in multiple applications and receiving more attention (...) from the public and private organisations. The purpose of this article is to offer a mapping of the technological architectures that support AIS, under the specific focus of the moral agency. Through a literature research and reflection process, the following areas are covered: a brief introduction and review of the literature on the topic of moral agency; an analysis using the BDI logic model (Bratman 1987); an elemental review of artificial ‘reasoning’ architectures in AIS; the influence of the data input and the data quality; AI systems’ positioning in decision support and decision making scenarios; and finally, some conclusions are offered about regarding the potential loss of moral control by humans due to AIS. This article contributes to the field of Ethics and Artificial Intelligence by providing a discussion for developers and researchers to understand how and under what circumstances the ‘human subject’ may, totally or partially, lose moral control and ownership over AI technologies. The topic is relevant because AIS often are not single machines but complex networks of machines that feed information and decisions into each other and to human operators. The detailed traceability of input-process-output at each node of the network is essential for it to remain within the field of moral agency. Moral agency is then at the basis of our system of legal responsibility, and social approval is unlikely to be obtained for entrusting important functions to complex systems under which no moral agency can be identified. (shrink)

An amplitude controllable hyperjerk system is constructed for chaos producing by introducing a nonlinear factor of memristor. In this case, the amplitude control is realized from a single coefficient in the memristor. The hyperjerk system has a line of equilibria and also shows extreme multistability indicated by the initial value-associated bifurcation diagram. FPGA-based circuit realization is also given for physical verification. Finally, the proposed memristive hyperjerk system is successfully predicted with artificial neural networks for AI based (...) engineering applications. (shrink)

Biological regulation is what allows an organism to handle the effects of a perturbation, modulating its own constitutive dynamics in response to particular changes in internal and external conditions. With the central focus of analysis on the case of minimal living systems, we argue that regulation consists in a specific form of second-order control, exerted over the core regime of production and maintenance of the components that actually put together the organism. The main argument is that regulation requires a (...) distinctive architecture of functional relationships, and specifically the action of a dedicated subsystem whose activity is dynamically decoupled from that of the constitutive regime. We distinguish between two major ways in which control mechanisms contribute to the maintenance of a biological organisation in response to internal and external perturbations: dynamic stability and regulation. Based on this distinction an explicit definition and a set of organisational requirements for regulation are provided, and thoroughly illustrated through the examples of bacterial chemotaxis and the lac-operon. The analysis enables us to mark out the differences between regulation and closely related concepts such as feedback, robustness and homeostasis. (shrink)

The last decade has witnessed the mass distribution and adoption of smart home systems and devices powered by artificial intelligence systems ranging from household appliances like fridges and toasters to more background systems such as air and water quality controllers. The pervasiveness of these sociotechnical systems makes analyzing their ethical implications necessary during the design phases of these devices to ensure not only sociotechnical resilience, but to design them for human values in mind and thus preserve meaningful human control (...) over them. This paper engages in a conceptual investigations of how meaningful human control over smart home devices can be attained through design. The value sensitive design (VSD) approach is proposed as a way of attaining this level of control. In the proposed framework, values are identified and defined, stakeholder groups are investigated and brought into the design process and the technical constraints of the technologies in question are considered. The paper concludes with some initial examples that illustrate a more adoptable way forward for both ethicists and engineers of smart home devices. (shrink)

ABSTRACTIn keeping with the dominant view that skills are largely automatic, the standard view of memory systems distinguishes between a representational declarative system associated with cognitive processes and a performance-based procedural system. The procedural system is thought to be largely responsible for the performance of well-learned skilled actions. Here we argue that most skills do not fully automate, which entails that the declarative system should make a substantial contribution to skilled performance. To support this view, we (...) review evidence showing that the declarative system does indeed play a number of roles in skilled action. (shrink)

It has been argued that the explanation of self-control requires positing special motivational powers. Some think that we need will-power as an irreducible mental faculty; others that we need to think of the active self as a dedicated and depletable pool of psychic energy or – in today more respectable terminology – mental resources; finally, there is the idea that self-control requires postulating a deep division between reason and passion – a deliberative and an emotional motivational system. (...) This essay argues that no such special motivational powers are necessary. Yet, at the same time, self-control does powerfully illustrate the importance of a feature of the mind. What it illustrates, I argue, is the importance of the mental activity of attention in the control of all action. It is by appeal to this mental activity that we can dispense with special motivational powers. If we think of Humeanism as the view that there is fundamentally only one kind of motivational system and that all action is based in that system, then this essay contributes to a defense of Humeanism. On the other hand, the essay also shows that any model of agency in terms of only beliefs and desires, motivational and representational states, or preferences and credences is incomplete. A different conception of Humeanism as the view that every mental state is either motivational, representational, or a combination of them, is false. (shrink)

This paper describes the design of a control and management network (orderwire) for a mobile wireless Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) network. This mobile wireless ATM network is part of the Rapidly Deployable Radio Network (RDRN). The orderwire system consists of a packet radio network which overlays the mobile wireless ATM network, each network element in this network uses Global Positioning System (GPS) information to control a beamforming antenna subsystem which provides for spatial reuse. This paper also (...) proposes a novel Virtual Network Configuration (VNC) algorithm for predictive network configuration. A mobile ATM Private Network-Network Interface (PNNI) based on VNC is also discussed. Finally, as a prelude to the system implementation, results of a Maisie simulation of the orderwire system are discussed. (shrink)

The last decade has witnessed the mass distribution and adoption of smart home systems and devices powered by artificial intelligence systems ranging from household appliances like fridges and toasters to more background systems such as air and water quality controllers. The pervasiveness of these sociotechnical systems makes analyzing their ethical implications necessary during the design phases of these devices to ensure not only sociotechnical resilience, but to design them for human values in mind and thus preserve meaningful human control (...) over them. This paper engages in a conceptual investigations of how meaningful human control over smart home devices can be attained through design. The value sensitive design (VSD) approach is proposed as a way of attaining this level of control. In the proposed framework, values are identified and defined, stakeholder groups are investigated and brought into the design process and the technical constraints of the technologies in question are considered. The paper concludes with some initial examples that illustrate a more adoptable way forward for both ethicists and engineers of smart home devices. (shrink)

Markets, companies and various forms of business organizations may all (we have argued) be usefully viewed through the lens of CAS -- the theory of complex adaptive systems. In this chapter, I address one fundamental issue that confronts both the theoretician and the business manager: the nature and opportunities for control and intervention in complex adaptive regimes. The problem is obvious enough. A complex adaptive system, as we have defined it, is soft assembled and largely self-organizing. This means (...) that it is the emergent product of multiple, and often very heterogeneous, interacting factors and forces, and that the crucial interactions are not controlled and orchestrated by an overseeing executive, detailed program, or any other source of strict hierarchical control. There is thus a pressing problem -- are such systems strictly out of control and beyond the reach of useful governance? I shall argue that they are not. Such systems, though initially unfamiliar, can nonetheless be led, influenced and enabled in a variety of ways. (shrink)

Philosophers and cognitive scientists alike have recently been interested in whether cognition extends beyond the boundaries of skin and skull and into the environment. However, the extended cognition hypothesis has suffered many objections over the past few decades. In this paper, I explore the option of control extending beyond the human boundary. My aim is to convince the reader of three things: (i) that control can be implemented in artifacts, (ii) that humans and artifacts can form extended (...) class='Hi'>control systems, and (iii) that perhaps extended control ought to be preferred over extended cognition. Using the objections to extended cognition as constraints on my own extended theorizing and the example of autofocus systems in cameras, I decompose and localize the components of an autofocus system that realize the central properties of control from a plausible theory of control in the literature. I then provide criteria according to which control can be extended in a system. Finally, I consider how this theory of extended control ought to be preferred to theories of extended cognition. (shrink)

Dependency relationships within the cell cycle allow cells to arrest the cycle reversibly in response to agents or conditions that interfere with specific aspects of its normal progression. In addition, overlapping pathways exist which also arrest the cell cycle in response to DNA damage. Collectively, these control mechanisms have become known as checkpoints. Analysis of checkpoints is facilitated by the fact that dependency relationships within the cell cycle, such as the dependency of mitosis on the completion of DNA synthesis, (...) and the DNA damage checkpoint can be separated genetically. In fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, the dependency of mitosis on prior completion of DNA synthesis is mediated through tyrosine‐15 phosphorylation of the ubiquitous mitotic regulator p34cdc2. In contrast, the arrest of mitosis caused by DNA damage acts through a separate mechanism that appears to be independent of tyrosine‐15 phosphorylation. Despite these distinct interactions with the mitotic machinery, the majority of fission yeast mutants that are deficient in mitotic arrest after DNA damage are also unable to respond to inhibition of DNA synthesis. In this essay we survey the current knowledge concerning feedback controls and checkpoints within fission yeast and relate this to information derived from other systems. (shrink)

The stabilization problem of a macroeconomic dynamical system is considered in this paper. The main features of this system are that the system uncertainties may be unknown functions of state and time but with known bounds. Furthermore, the control inputs are subject to constraints, which is a salient feature in an economic control problem. To ensure that the controls are within the specified boundaries, in our control design procedure, a creative diffeomorphism, which converts bounded (...) controls into unbounded corresponding signals by choosing an appropriate transformation function, is proposed. For the uncertain system, a deterministic robust control is designed to render the practical stability: uniform boundedness and uniform ultimate boundedness. The range of the input bounds is related to the uncertainties and can be designed according to the actual situation. Numerical simulations are performed to verify the effectiveness of the stabilization policy. (shrink)

GIS is important equipment in the substation system in a complex microgrid network. Due to the long-term service in harsh operation environments, the electrical performance of GIS equipment will be seriously affected. Therefore, the regular maintenance of GIS equipment in the substation system is a routine task so as to ensure the normal operation of the microgrid networks. The traditional method relies on manual labor, where not only with the low operation efficiency but also regarding some maintenance, labors (...) cannot reach the inside of the GIS equipment, which seriously restricted the completion of GIS equipment maintenance operation. Based on the above analysis, a basic configuration of a GIS equipment maintenance robot with smart structure, convenient control, and stable motion characteristic has been proposed in this paper. Through the optimization design of the chassis adsorption system, the GIS inspection robot can achieve hanging and vertical adsorption inside the GIS equipment and some special motion status. In this way, the entire GIS equipment can be inspected without blind spots. Through establishing the mechanical model of the GIS inspection robot under the hanging and vertical motion state, the robustness and stability of the GIS inspection robot in the special status have been analyzed, and the corresponding GIS inspection robot robust stability motion control method has also been proposed. Finally, through the integrated design of mechanical system and hardware and software control system, the GIS inspection robot physical prototype system has been developed and the maintenance operation experiment has been carried out in Hunan Electric Power Company Maintenance Company through simulating the internal GIS equipment. The physical prototype can realize the basic movement and special movement in internal GIS equipment without any blind spots and complete the inspection task of GIS equipment operation; the movement of GIS robot is dexterous and stable in the whole operation process, which has strong robust stability. The research of GIS inspection robot in the complex microgrid networks has important theoretical significance and practical application value for the intelligent operation and maintenance management of substation system in complex microgrid networks. (shrink)

This paper deals with designing a harvesting control strategy for a predator–prey dynamical system, with parametric uncertainties and exogenous disturbances. A feedback control law for the harvesting rate of the predator is formulated such that the population dynamics is asymptotically stabilized at a positive operating point, while maintaining a positive, steady state harvesting rate. The hierarchical block strict feedback structure of the dynamics is exploited in designing a backstepping control law, based on Lyapunov theory. In order (...) to account for unknown parameters, an adaptive control strategy has been proposed in which the control law depends on an adaptive variable which tracks the unknown parameter. Further, a switching component has been incorporated to robustify the control performance against bounded disturbances. Proofs have been provided to show that the proposed adaptive control strategy ensures asymptotic stability of the dynamics at a desired operating point, as well as exact parameter learning in the disturbance-free case and learning with bounded error in the disturbance prone case. The dynamics, with uncertainty in the death rate of the predator, subjected to a bounded disturbance has been simulated with the proposed control strategy. (shrink)

This paper is concerned with the optimal output feedback control problem for networked control systems with Markovian packet losses. In this paper, the packet losses occur both between the sensor and controller and between the controller and actuator. Moreover, the packet loss channels are described with two-state Markov chains. Since the precise state information cannot be obtained, thus an optimal recursive estimator is designed. Furthermore, by adopting the dynamic programming approach, we derive the optimal output feedback control, (...) which is based on the solution to a given modified Riccati equation. The obtained results can be seen as an important implementation of the control theory for NCSs with unreliable communication channels. (shrink)

Aiming at the suspension cable system of an unmanned helicopter with sensor fault under complex environment, this paper studies the robust antiswing tolerant control scheme. To suppress the swing of the hanging load when the unmanned helicopter is in the forward flight state, a nonlinear line motion model is firstly established. Considering the sensor fault of the unmanned helicopter, a sensor fault estimator is developed. By using the fault estimator output, the robust antiswing tolerant controller is proposed using (...) the backstepping technique and sliding mode control method. Under the designed robust antiswing tolerant controller, the desired tracking control performance can be obtained and the swing angle of the load is guaranteed small under the sensor fault. Furthermore, the closed-loop system stability is analyzed by using the Lyapunov technique. Simulation studies are given to show the efficiency of the designed robust antiswing control strategy. (shrink)

To shorten the travel time and improve comfort, the automatic train driving system is considered to replace manual driving. In this article, an automatic control method of computer application data-processing system based on artificial intelligence is proposed. An automatic train operation (ATO) introduced the structure and function of an autopilot system (train), optimized the train running on the target curve, introduced the basic principle of fuzzy generalized predictive control (PC) algorithm, and combined with the characteristics (...) of ATO system design the speed controller based on optimization algorithm, the target curve to make use of the designed controller to track and simulation validation. The experimental outcomes demonstrate that when the train runs to 90 s, the displacement difference reaches about 40 m, which proves that the fuzzy PC has better displacement tracking, punctual arrival, and higher stopping accuracy. (shrink)

This paper focuses on physiological integration in multicellular systems, a notion often associated with biological individuality, but which has not received enough attention and needs a thorough theoretical treatment. Broadly speaking, physiological integration consists in how different components come together into a cohesive unit in which they are dependent on one another for their existence and activity. This paper argues that physiological integration can be understood by considering how the components of a biological multicellular system are controlled and coordinated (...) in such a way that their activities can contribute to the maintenance of the system. The main implication of this perspective is that different ways of controlling their parts may give rise to multicellular organizations with different degrees of integration. After defining control, this paper analyses how control is realized in two examples of multicellular systems located at different ends of the spectrum of multicellularity: biofilms and animals. It focuses on differences in control ranges, and it argues that a high degree of integration implies control exerted at both medium and long ranges, and that insofar as biofilms lack long-range control (relative to their size) they can be considered as less integrated than other multicellular systems. It then discusses the implication of this account for the debate on physiological individuality and the idea that degrees of physiological integration imply degrees of individuality. (shrink)

My aim is to question whether the introduction of new technologies in society may be considered to be genuine experiments. I will argue that they are not, at least not in the sense in which the notion of experiment is being used in the natural and social sciences. If the introduction of a new technology in society is interpreted as an experiment, then we are dealing with a notion of experiment that differs in an important respect from the notion of (...) experiment as used in the natural and social sciences. This difference shows itself most prominently when the functioning of the new technological system is not only dependent on technological hardware but also on social ‘software’, that is, on social institutions such as appropriate laws, and actions of operators of the new technological system. In those cases we are not dealing with ‘simply’ the introduction of a new technology, but with the introduction of a new socio-technical system. I will argue that if the introduction of a new socio-technical system is considered to be an experiment, then the relation between the experimenter and the system on which the experiment is performed differs significantly from the relation in traditional experiments in the natural and social sciences. In the latter experiments it is assumed that the experimenter is not part of the experimental system and is able to intervene in and control the experimental system from the outside. With regard to the introduction of new socio-technical systems the idea that there is an experimenter outside the socio-technical system who intervenes in and controls that system becomes problematic. From that perspective we are dealing with a different kind of experiment. (shrink)

The value and significance of Stanley Milgram’s experiments on Obedience to Authority have been the subject of a controversy that we propose to analyze in the light of the role played by the reference to cybernetics Milgram introduced in his 1974 work. This reference is part of the series of theoretical analyses proposed by Milgram in the core of his book Obedience to Authority (1974). It constitutes the central basis for the formulation of the concept of the “agentic state”. And (...) yet, only a few direct analyses have been performed on this reference in the framework of studies of Milgram’s work. It nevertheless plays a central role in several ways. Firstly, it provides Milgram with a consistent and generalizing framework which allows him to integrate certain elements, which could otherwise have appeared to diverge from the general explanation proposed, into a unified and apparently consistent interpretation. Secondly, the specific use of this reference allows him to strengthen his obedience paradigm as a general social human behavioral trend. Indeed, the way Milgram presents this cybernetic paradigm is not neutral in that he opts for a paradigm promoting the vertical and hierarchical. Our work is twofold. Firstly, we analyze the way Milgram’s successive presentations of his experiment translates into a radicalization and a unification of the paradigm of obedience to authority by lateralizing explanatory elements, even though such elements were considered by Milgram. Secondly, we highlight why the reference to cybernetics allows for this radicalization and provides his work with a theoretical basis while at the same time discussing certain limits and problems with this reference. (shrink)

This commentary proposes that “cognitive control” is neither componential nor emergent, but a fundamental feature of behavior. The term “control” requires an operational definition. This is best provided by the negative feedback loop that utilizes behavior to control perception; it does not control behavior per se. In order to model complex cognitive control, Perceptual Control Theory proposes that loops are organized into a dissociable hierarchical network (PCT; Powers, Clark, & McFarland, 1960; Powers, 1973a, 2008). (...) In this way, behavior is dynamically adaptive to environmental disturbances, rather than being formed by, or superimposed upon, learned associations between stimulus and response. (shrink)

Attention is strongly influenced by both external stimuli and internal goals. However, this useful dichotomy does not readily capture the ubiquitous and often automatic contribution of past experience stored in memory. We review recent evidence about how multiple memory systems control attention, consider how such interactions are manifested in the brain, and highlight how this framework for ‘memory-guided attention’ might help systematize previous findings and guide future research.

The search for “usable” expert systems is leading somemedical researchers to question the appropriate role of these programs. Most current systems assume a limited role for the human user, delegating situated “decision-control” to the machine. As expert systems are only able to replace a narrow range of human intellectual functions, this leaves the programs unable to cope with the “constructivist” nature of human knowledge-use. In returning practical control to the human doctor, some researchers are abandoning focusedproblem-solving in favour (...) of supportiveproblem-analysis. Using ONCOCIN and QMR as examples, this article contrasts these approaches and suggests that the latter avoids many of the difficulties currently facing medical expert systems. (shrink)

We present a distributed control modeling approach for an automated manufacturing system based on the dynamics of one-dimensional cellular automata. This is inspired by the fact that both cellular automata and manufacturing systems are discrete dynamical systems where local interactions given among their elements can lead to complex dynamics, despite the simple rules governing such interactions. The cellular automaton model developed in this study focuses on two states of the resources of a manufacturing system, namely, busy or (...) idle. However, the interaction among the resources such as whether they are shared at different stages of the manufacturing process determines the global dynamics of the system. A procedure is shown to obtain the local evolution rule of the automaton based on the relationships among the resources and the material flow through the manufacturing process. The resulting distributed control of the manufacturing system appears to be heterarchical, and the evolution of the cellular automaton exhibits a Class II behavior for some given disordered initial conditions. (shrink)

In October 2011, the “2nd European Network for Cognitive Systems, Robotics and Interaction”, EUCogII, held its meeting in Groningen on “Autonomous activity in real-world environments”, organized by Tjeerd Andringa and myself. This is a brief personal report on why we thought autonomy in real-world environments is central for cognitive systems research and what I think I learned about it. --- The theses that crystallized are that a) autonomy is a relative property and a matter of degree, b) increasing autonomy of (...) an artificial system from its makers and users is a necessary feature of increasingly intelligent systems that can deal with the real-world and c) more such autonomy means less control but at the same time improved interaction with the system. (shrink)

The system reachability set is calculated by covering all possible behaviours of the system through a finite number of simulation steps to ensure that the system trajectory stays within a set safety region. In this paper, the theory of the game method is applied to the design of the controller, a very small controller is designed, and good control results are obtained by simulation. The system gradually shows a divergent trend and cannot achieve stable (...) class='Hi'>control. A multihop channel reservation Medium Access Control protocol based on a parallel mechanism is proposed. The multihop channel reservation mechanism is proposed based on periodic node sleep, and the node uses the reservation frame to make the reservation of the channel and transmits the data according to the reservation information; the parallel mechanism is used to make the reservation information and data transmission simultaneously. (shrink)

The last decade has witnessed the mass distribution and adoption of smart home systems and devices powered by artificial intelligence systems ranging from household appliances like fridges and toasters to more background systems such as air and water quality controllers. The pervasiveness of these sociotechnical systems makes analyzing their ethical implications necessary during the design phases of these devices to ensure not only sociotechnical resilience, but to design them for human values in mind and thus preserve meaningful human control (...) over them. This paper engages in a conceptual investigations of how meaningful human control over smart home devices can be attained through design. The value sensitive design (VSD) approach is proposed as a way of attaining this level of control. In the proposed framework, values are identified and defined, stakeholder groups are investigated and brought into the design process and the technical constraints of the technologies in question are considered. The paper concludes with some initial examples that illustrate a more adoptable way forward for both ethicists and engineers of smart home devices. (shrink)