The Ashby Box: A Contextualization and Speculative Remake

Thomas Fischer (author)

Andrei Cretu (author)

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Metadata
Title	The Ashby Box
Subtitle	A Contextualization and Speculative Remake
Contributor	Thomas Fischer (author)
Contributor	Andrei Cretu (author)
License	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Copyright	Thomas Fischer and Andrei Cretu
Publisher	meson press
Published on	2023-09-29
Short abstract	Alan Turing and W. Ross Ashby drew on mechanization to probe the limits of two principal avenues to knowledge: deductive reasoning and experience-based induction. Turing proposed the Turing machine to ascertain the scope of the formally determinable, while Ashby built the Ashby Box to demonstrate the limits of experience-based induction. Whereas the Turing machine, a hypothetical thought experiment, was not meant to be built, the Ashby Box, a physical implementation of a black box, was not meant to be unriddled, or “whitened.” Yet, just as Turing machines have been implemented, we set out to construct a device whose outward behavior matches that of the Ashby Box. In this chapter, we present the results of this effort. To contextualize this work, we trace a lineage of hardware and hypothetical machines, which arose from frictions between the predictability that makes life survivable and the unpredictability that makes life interesting. This lineage comprises four-terminal networks, the Turing machine, the Enigma cipher machine, the homeostat, the black box, the Ashby Box, and the non-trivial machine.
Long abstract	Alan Turing and W. Ross Ashby drew on mechanization to probe the limits of two principal avenues to knowledge: deductive reasoning and experience-based induction. Turing proposed the Turing machine to ascertain the scope of the formally determinable, while Ashby built the Ashby Box to demonstrate the limits of experience-based induction. Whereas the Turing machine, a hypothetical thought experiment, was not meant to be built, the Ashby Box, a physical implementation of a black box, was not meant to be unriddled, or “whitened.” Yet, just as Turing machines have been implemented, we set out to construct a device whose outward behavior matches that of the Ashby Box. In this chapter, we present the results of this effort. To contextualize this work, we trace a lineage of hardware and hypothetical machines, which arose from frictions between the predictability that makes life survivable and the unpredictability that makes life interesting. This lineage comprises four-terminal networks, the Turing machine, the Enigma cipher machine, the homeostat, the black box, the Ashby Box, and the non-trivial machine.
Page range	pp. 163–193
Language	English (Original)

Contributors

Thomas Fischer

(author)

Professor at the School of Design at Southern University of Science and Technology

Thomas Fischer is a professor at the School of Design at the Southern University of Science and Technology, a fellow of the Design Research Society, and recipient of the American Society for Cybernetics’ Warren McCulloch Award. His research focuses on design computing, design cybernetics, and digital media.

Andrei Cretu

(author)

Assistant professor in the Department of Slavic and East European Language at The Ohio State University

Andrei Cretu is a teaching assistant professor in the Department of Slavic and East European Languages at The Ohio State University and a recipient of the American Society for Cybernetics’ Heinz von Foerster Award. His research focuses on communication theory and the mathematical modeling of language.