Title of the Paper: CYBERNETICS AND THE FUTURE OF WORK

Authors: Ashitha Ganapathy and Michael Timothy Bennett

Abstract: The disruption caused by the pandemic has called into question industrial norms and created an opportunity to reimagine the future of work. We discuss how this period of opportunity may be leveraged to bring about a future in which the workforce thrives rather than survives. Any coherent plan of such breadth must address the interaction of multiple technological, social, economic, and environmental systems. A shared language that facilitates communication across disciplinary boundaries can bring together stakeholders and facilitate a considered response. The origin story of cybernetics and the ideas posed therein serve to illustrate how we may better understand present complex challenges, to create a future of work that places human values at its core.

Authors:  Romola Thumbadoo and Fraser Taylor

Abstract: Norbert Wiener – [1] projected cybernetics as the dominant face of technological developments of the mid 1950s, this evident in interdisciplinary studies connecting fields of control systems, electrical network theory, mechanical engineering, logic modeling, evolutionary biology, neuroscience, as well as, interestingly, anthropology and psychology; he also deliberated on ethical considerations in the human interface with technology. Juxtaposed with Marshall McLuhan’s interconnected global village projection [2] this has focused attention on coexistence predicated on transnational commerce, migration, culture and marketplace, leading to the prioritization of business management and organizational learning for effective human functioning in social systems.
This paper introduces the thinking and discourse [3] of late North American Indigenous Elder William Commanda (1913 – 2011) [4] into the ongoing explorations of Wiener’s watershed work. While not representative of all Indigenous thinking on technology and communications, his approach involves the unique and dynamic integration of value, communication, technology and navigation in the projection of ideas for a global village available in online format that offers a model for analysis. The central point is that his understanding of a social system is emergent from rationality grounded in the laws of nature inclusive of a spiritual (not religious) value dimension, that technology and communications are accessed to affirm this systemic configuration, and that today the global village is the idiom for its manifestation.
This paper examines his conceptualization of a microcosmic virtual global village with reach across time and space.

Authors: Elizabeth B. Varghese and Sabu M. Thampi.

Abstract: In a smart surveillance system, the amount of video data has increased exponentially due to the increase in the number of monitoring devices and IoT sensors. To make smart and real-time decisions without latency in communication from these voluminous data is a tedious task. In this context, selecting informative frames from the video is of great importance that helps to extract only the salient features for further processing without latency and bandwidth constraints. In this paper, we are proposing a fast and reliable method for selecting informative frames from video sequences based on the human cognition process of visual attention to preserve the Spatio-temporal properties of the video. The proposed method extracts the informative frames using the frame informative score calculated based on visual attention maps, super pixel segmentation, and temporal information. Since our purpose is for analyzing crowd behavior from video data in a smart environment, we take two publicly available crowd video datasets for our experiments. The results show that the proposed approach is successful in extracting relevant video frames in linear time by preserving their spatial and temporal properties. We also analyze the feasibility of the proposed method in a fog computing-based simulated IoT framework, and it has been verified that the proposed cognitive approach could efficiently address the concerns of latency and bandwidth in smart surveillance environments. 

Author: Avery Slater.

Abstract:  This paper discusses contemporary issues in machine learning in the context of Norbert Wiener’s work. Wiener uses the figure of the Golem across his writings to represent the dangers inherent in machine learning, and he depicts the relationship between creator and machine as a form of learning game. This paper demonstrates how recent advances in techniques such as cooperative inverse reinforcement learning deal explicitly with problems laid out in Wiener’s earlier writing, including the importance of games as learning environments for the development of AI agents.

Author: Devin Proctor.

Abstract: – This paper focuses on ongoing digital ethnographic work studying the links between Internet culture, algorithmic logics, and extremist white supremacy as they collaborate in the radicalization of young people. In my previous work, I became interested in the ways feedback loops and cybernetic experience affect Internet users. Through this research I developed a theory of “cybernetic animism,” which (briefly put) argues that the existence of non-human bots, algorithms, and AI systems in the Internet creates a fully social environment regardless of the presence of other humans. This current research applies the same concept to user experience specifically to uncover the ways “whiteness” and “white identity” are constructed and deployed in the process of radicalization. To study this process, I examine Internet practice across spaces such as Wikipedia, Google Search, Facebook, and Gab, with particular focus on the phrases “It’s Okay to Be White” and “White Lives Matter.” My hope in this work is to trace the ways feedback loops create space for and encourage extremism, so we may work towards mitigating their consequences.

Authors: Jegadeeswari G, Kirubadurai B, Dhanasekar P and Viknesh S

Abstract: This Paper is mainly focused on the Accommodation ladder of the ship, At present the Gangway is provided with the automatic operation in offshore fleets in order to Transport the Equipments from one ship to another, that is it can transport the equipment between two floating vessels and between one floating vessel and a static structure (for example in from ship to Offshore windmill structure). So this method can be modified and can be implemented in the Accommodation ladder and the damage that are being caused to the ladder can be Minimized to a maximum extent and will be very useful for the Tidal Ports.

Authors: Amanraj Singh Tomar, Aniruddha Mate and Anshul Sahu

 Abstract: This paper is about a prepaid electricity monitoring system using the internet of things, which monitors electricity consumption and provides feedback on power usage. The conventional electricity meters are not easily accessible and lack in record of electricity consumption daily. This paper represents a system that tracks electricity usage and stores the data on a cloud server and thus can be accessed from anywhere in the world. The system will give notification on reaching a predefined limit and will also generate the bill of total electricity being used. As this is a prepaid electricity monitoring system the user has to feed a particular amount as per the requirement and that amount gets deducted as per the electricity consumption of the household.

 Author: Reihana Mohideen

Abstract: This paper is based on the premise that the principal purpose of science and technological development should be the well-being of society in harmony with environmental sustainability. Vaclav Smil [1] argues “commonly used measures of energy use – be it conversion efficiencies, energy costs, per capita utilization levels, growth rates, consumption elasticity, or output rations – are just helpful indicators of the performance and dynamics of processes whose aim should not be merely to secure basic existential needs or to satisfy assorted consumerist urges but also to enrich intellectual lives and to make us more successful as a social and caring species.” Energy and electricity access and use is valuable not in itself, but for what it enables women and men “to do or achieve” [2]. Grubler studied the history of past energy transitions and identifies ‘grand patterns’, one of which being the critical importance of end-use — consumers and demand – “with technology and the social settings co- evolving, depending on each other” [3]. Feminist studies in science and technology treat technology as a ‘socio-technical’ product and describe the relationship between gender and technology as one of mutual shaping [4]. Gender and development studies put forward the concept of ‘gender mainstreaming’ which has been applied to infrastructure programs, such as energy, transport and digital infrastructure, based on gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) approaches. The paper draws from these frameworks.
Norbert Wiener considered the resilience of urban centres in preparation for a potential nuclear attack and outlined what he considered to be some key features of urban plans. In the first draft of his urban plan, titled “Civilian Defense Plan”, his  central  argument is that the atomic bomb has rendered our previous understanding of civil defense obsolete and that “we need to reorganize our cities where they stand” – markets, points for medical supplies, hospitals, transportation, etc [5].
The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the inter-relatedness and inter-connections between physical infrastructure, key utilities and services, and economic, health and social outcomes. There is an urgent need to rethink and transform cities to respond to the reality of Covid-19 and potential future pandemics, and to recover better, by building more resilient, inclusive and sustainable cities. International experiences show that cities with similar densities and levels of economic development have fared very differently in their ability to contain Covid-19. This indicates that the strength and duration of impacts of Covid-19 are not solely determined by a city’s population density, but also by local capacity and preparedness to deal with such crises, infrastructure and service delivery systems, citizen’s trust and confidence in society’s institutions and the level of functional responsibilities and resources available to them through decentralized systems.
Some of the key lessons for recovery and ‘building back better’ include the importance of an effective health system response, urban and regional planning, physical distancing, city-wide slum upgrading and housing programs, land-use and regulations to regulate hygiene conditions, significantly scaling up the low-carbon energy and infrastructure transition, access to key utilities and services for poor and vulnerable groups such as women, slum and transient populations, people with disabilities and the elderly, social protection, rethinking business supply chains, more resilient and inclusive ICT and digital connectivity and a pressing need to address gender inequality and social exclusion in relation to vulnerabilities.
These new challenges require a new approach that integrates governance, physical environment and infrastructure, social environment, economic environment, planning and resourcing for resilience, and gender equality and social inclusion (GESI).
The objective of the study was to develop an integrated approach to strengthening urban resilience based on infrastructure, energy and health linkages, with a focus on GESI impacts. Drawing from lessons learned from various connected fields: climate-related disaster programs to designing infrastructure; power and energy systems to incorporate resilience and reliability; universal health coverage and health system strengthening; and the preliminary lessons drawn from the activities undertaken to control the Covid-19 pandemic, a Resilience Assessment Framework has been proposed. The framework is intended to be used to assess the current resilience maturity level of a city. It can also be applied to measure progress, at different time intervals, towards a prospective target maturity level.

Author: Rudolph Dusek.

Abstract: Not Submitted Camera Ready Paper.

 Authors: Riya Manna and Raja kishore Nath

 Abstract: Humans have invented intelligent machinery to enhance their rational decision making procedure, which is why it has been named ‘augmented intelligence’. The usage of artificial intelligence (AI) technology is increasing enormously with every passing year, and it is becoming a part of our daily life. We are using this technology not only as a tool to enhance our rationality but also heightening them as the autonomous ethical agent for our future society. Norbert Wiener envisaged ‘Cybernetics’ with a view of a brain machine interface to augment human beings’ biological rationality. Being an autonomous ethical agent presupposes an ‘agency’ in moral decision-making procedure. According to agency’s contemporary theories, AI robots might be entitled to some minimal rational agency. However, that minimal agency might not be adequate for a fully autonomous ethical agent’s performance in the future. If we plan to implement them as an ethical agent for the future society, it will be difficult for us to judge their actual stand as a moral agent. It is well known that any kind of moral agency presupposes consciousness and mental representations, which cannot be articulated synthetically until today. We can only anticipate that this milestone will be achieved by AI scientists shortly, which will further help them triumph over ‘the problem of ethical agency in AI’. Philosophers are currently trying a probe of the pre-existing ethical theories to build a guidance framework for the AI robots and construct a tangible overview of artificial moral agency. Although, no unanimous solution is available yet. It will land up in another conflicting situation between biological, moral agency and autonomous ethical agency, which will leave us in a baffled state. Creating rational and ethical AI machines will be a fundamental future research problem for the AI field. This paper aims to investigate ‘the problem of moral agency in AI’ from a philosophical outset and hold a survey of the relevant philosophical discussions to find a resolution for the same.

 Authors: Josephine Taniha Joseph and Nirmala Santiago

 Abstract: Tourism is a major source of revenue for many countries around the world. It provides jobs for the local residents, preserves natural resources, and uplifts culture and heritage, further economically benefiting the destination. In order to improve tourism, a system is developed which analyses the social media activity of users to understand their emotions. Sentiment analysis is generally done on text from comments or reviews, but this new system takes a different approach and tries to perform a sentiment analysis on the images that a user likes on social networking applications and detects features from these images to understand the mood of the user. These images are classified as ‘happy’ or ‘sad’, which is used to develop a context-based recommender system. To facilitate this several classification methods are implemented and compared to obtain the best method. The images are classified using Convolutional neural networks with different numbers of layers, by using Transfer learning with VGG16 and Inception Model, and by adding a novel layer of bilinear pooling to the VGG16 model to study its effect on the performance. The psychological effects of the emotion of a user on tourism recommendations are studied and relevant recommendations are made.

 Authors: Vaibhav Kumar, Ahana Sarkar and Arnab Jana.

 Abstract: Lack of strategic framework in service delivery and decision making remains a void in health care, especially in developing nations. Online social media (OSM) can be an appropriate tool in raising awareness, issuing warnings and retrieving information regarding health issues. This study proposes a web-based health Geographic Information System (GIS) by utilizing a fabrication of OSM sources like government data, news media and Twitter data. Web crawlers were developed to retrieve the historical datasets from the archives of the data sources. The processed data is represented geo-spatially using a developed WebGIS system. The sequential computation-driven system integrating spatial extensions of PostgreSQL database and OpenLayers allows us to analyze health-related information, conduct spatiotemporal queries, and generate spatial density distribution maps to determine the disease hot spots and visualize space-time connections at a local scale. The outcomes can support the agencies in framing healthcare-related policies based on geoinformation intelligence and data analysis on various datasets including social media. It can further pave the way towards an e-governance system for efficient healthcare service delivery to every section of the society.

 Authors: Shreyas Madhav A V and Rajesh Kanna B

Abstract:  Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) is a computational problem in autonomous robotics that has been a domain of extensive research in the past decade. The significance of the algorithm in ensuring the mainstream application of autonomous robot navigation explains the importance placed on it. Aerial vehicles are employed in several critical industries like defence and forestry to provide accurate surveillance results with the help of onboard navigation and visioning systems. While SLAM algorithms are existent for UAV applications, the application of parallelism on 3D aerial SLAM has not been explored. This paper proposes a parallelized LiDAR 3D SLAM algorithm for aerial autonomous robots. Fast Point Feature Histogram (FPFH) descriptors are extracted for the alignment process which is later finetuned by Iterative Closest Point (ICP) registration. The final estimated trajectory is put through 3D pose graph optimization to minimize the overall drift that may be present. The final trajectory and point cloud map is displayed by the algorithm and compared with the ground truth data. The number of threads and CPUs utilized for parallelization of the algorithm have been varied and compared. The simulated results show a significant change of 26% in execution time for the parallelized algorithm utilizing 4 CPUs compared to its serial version.

 Authors: Kader Shaikh, Naresh Jawarkar and Vasif Ahmed

 Abstract: Diagnosis or fault identification in real industrial machines using audio or sound signals is a challenging task. Active research has been pursued to determine acoustic features, classification & clustering algorithms that could estimate the state of an industrial machine. Acoustic features & classifiers from different domains have been successfully implemented for fault identification in industrial machines. This paper is a comparative study of propositions, experiments, applications and systems developed by various researchers. Effort has been made to generate a collection of test benches developed, results observed and conclusion arrived. These insights suggest deep learning and anomaly detection techniques as a promising technology for preventive maintenance in real industrial machines.

 Authors: Nachshon Goltz and Tracey Dowdeswell

 Abstract: Our recent book, The Imagination less Generation, sets out our Media Engagement Theory which seeks to describe and thereby assert some control over the interface between mass media and the human psyche. The theory offers values-based and cultural modes of regulation to tackle the harms posed to children by mass media and disruptive new technologies. Here, we build on this theory through an exploration of the ‘Law of the Dog,’ which is an innovative educational approach that teaches children to approach their screens with an informed and skeptical indifference ⏤ in the same manner that an animal would meet a novel object in its environment, before it knows whether or not that object poses a threat. This discussion will draw upon evolutionary psychology to argue why the emotions of ‘vigilance’ and ‘aversion’ are especially effective in teaching children how to approach new media. We aim to teach children to become cautious skeptics rather than naïve and enthusiastic consumers. With the rise of deep fakes and false information flooding the Internet, this approach has value for the broader audience as well.

 Authors: Michael Arnold, Hannah Gould, Tamara Kohn, Bjorn Nansen and Martin Gibbs

Abstract: Using Postphenomenology (one of many methods informed by Wiener’s cybernetics) as an analytical approach, this paper examines three examples of robot participation in, and mediation of, funerals. The analysis of robot mediation of funerals challenges the idea that death rituals are exclusively human performances and experiences, and instead repositions them as cybernetic systems of entanglement and impact. The paper begins with an introduction to the relevance of postphenomenological theory, then moves to the case of CARL, a robot that enables remote participation in funeral ceremonies. We argue that the [Human–Robot–Funeral] relation and its variants are both engaging and alienating, through revealing-concealing, magnification-reduction and a more generalised enabling-constraining. Technological mediation is also evident in the case of Pepper, a robot that has officiated at funerals as a Buddhist monk. We describe similarities and differences in the way CARL and Pepper manifest the [Human–Robot–Funeral] relation. The final example is AIBO, a companion robot that becomes the locus of a funeral ritual. This offers a radical case that directly challenges humans’ self-proclaimed exceptional ontology.

Author: Zach Pearl.

Abstract: In the Cybernetics Moment, Ronald R. Kline provides an account of why cybernetics, as a term and discipline, all but disappeared from North American consciousness following the “cybernetics craze.” According to Kline, this was a time of intense attention on cybernetics in the cultural milieu where it became “a fad among artists, musicians and intellectuals in the 1950s and 60s.” Without disputing Kline’s central claim—that the parlance of cybernetics greatly diminished with the rise of an “information age narrative”—this paper demonstrates that this ‘informational turn’ had little effect on artmaking, where cybernetics continued to be of critical interest to artists working with technology long after the post-war period. By mapping a trajectory of cybernetics in art from sculpture and performance in the 1960s through new media art in the 80s and 90s up to post-Internet artmaking today, a practical conception of cybernetics is articulated, in which communication and information are thought of as material and social processes. This embodied understanding of cybernetic systems is positioned as unique to contemporary art practice, unshared by other disciplines.

 Authors: Manabrata Guha, Jai Galliott.

 Abstract: This paper leverages Norbert Weiner’s cybernetic paradigm to understand and contextualize the nature and character of the emergent battlespace in the Age of Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Weapon Systems. Given the emergence of the Internet of Things, which is co-constituting a technogeographical space, this paper contends that it is more productive to think of the emergent battlespace in cybernetic than in digital terms, which not only allows for the re-evaluation of the human, weapons, tactical mix, but which also necessitates a reassessment of the ethical concerns of warfare in the 21^st Century.

Authors: R. Sugin Elankavi, D. Dinakaran, R.M. Kuppan Chetty and M.M. Ramya

Abstract: This paper presents a modular design of a  wheeled wall-press type In-pipe Inspection Robot using 3D printing technology. The proposed robot (Kuzhali) consists of a prismatic joint to which the modular parts are attached. This mechanism ensures that the wheels are in contact with the pipe’s internal surface. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) was performed on the custom-designed parts to see whether they can withstand the stress acting on them while passing through straight and curved pipelines. The analysis was carried out for curved pipes with a Factor of Safety of 1.5. To optimize the performance and durability of the robotic legs, the thickness of the components are modified. The design of the components was validated with an error of ± 5 %. The new design was fabricated and it was found that the proposed robot was able to move through straight, curved and L-branch pipes in the horizontal plane.

Authors: Kalaiyarasi N and Gopal Tadepalli.

Abstract: “Human technologies are made by humans, for humans”. In recent days pairing people with the system is getting easier. The systems and tools we use are becoming increasingly intelligent and more interconnected with autonomous behavior giving birth to cyber physical systems. The advances in the miniaturization of computation makes our tool behave intelligent using Artificial Intelligence. This intelligence in the form of a software where the inputs are taken from entities of real-time systems. The ultimate goal of the future research should be to emulate the functions of human-human and human-autonomy teams directly and evaluate their joint performance and contributions. Armed with this approach and existing technologies we can uncover novel approaches in Industry 4.0 and this paper ends with the overview of human-machine autonomy and ergonomics at variable autonomy.

Authors:David Kolevski, Katina Michael, Roba Abbas and Mark Freeman.

Abstract: The incidence of cloud computing data breaches across the world is increasing as retailers, financial institutions, health providers and businesses of all sizes rely on infrastructure, platform, software, and anything as a service (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS and XaaS respectively). As cloud provisioning requires the Internet for the realization of services, security has become paramount. Companies have adopted cloud services to allow for agility in response to growth, particularly of digital services, while reducing their overall costs and maintenance issues. At the same time, the personally identifiable information of hundreds of millions of end-users is now at risk of being hacked, through insecure cloud computing practices that lead to data breaches. In this article, we explore three cases of significant cloud computing data breaches. The data breach cases are the 2011 Sony PlayStation Network (PSN), 2014 eBay, Inc., and 2014 Yahoo!. The paper employs a qualitative strategy, using mini case studies to demonstrate the significance of data breaches. While class action lawsuits by citizens have brought attention to potential matters of disclosure, the misuse of data, and identity fraud in the context of cloud computing, U.S. courts continue to rule that the direct costs to the individual end-user are merely speculative and not provable. The role of consumer class action for data breaches in the cloud are presented in this article.