Ontological Cybernetics as an Integrator of Organizational Systems in Hybrid Reality Environments

Abstract

Our purpose in this paper is to clarify ontological approaches to the development of cybernetics based on epistemological and methodological propositions grounded in the concepts of scientific classical, non-classical, post-non-classical rationality – as proposed by V.S. Stepin (2005). We need to increase our under­standing of the subject-oriented approach to the analysis of cybernetic interac­tions: “subject – object” in first-order cybernetics, “subject – subject” in second-order cybernetics and “subject – metasubject” in the cybernetics of self-develop­ing reflexive-active environments, third-order cybernetics. The ideas of three or­ders of cybernetics, first, second and third have the potential of integrating a strong ontological approach to the social sciences. For this integration we pro­pose Beer’s Viable System Model (VSM), Espejo’s Viplan Methodology and Lepskiy’s self-developing reflexive-active environments. This ontological cyber­netics corresponds to the development of the philosophical and methodological foundations of cybernetics and systems towards subject-oriented approaches, grounded on Ashby’s Law of Requisite Variety. We expect them to contribute to achieving adequate responses to the challenges of the 21st century at all struc­tural levels. They should be focused on adequate performance to achieve desir­able outcomes for sustainability and viability on the grounds of socio-humanitar­ian innovative criteria, using today’s digital technologies, converging with the increasingly powerful ontologies of artificial intelligence. We are offering on­tologies for organizing hybrid reality environments. Our aim through this paper is creating new ontologies adequate to the effective use of digital technologies and artificial intelligence to improve the control and communication mechanisms of social systems.