A discussion of S.M. Krylov’s book «Neocybernetics» (2008)

Abstract

A comparative analysis of the “general formal technology (GFT)” by S. M. Krylov is carried out in the context of the published book of the authors “General Theory of Technologies and Microelectronics” (2020) and on the basis of his work of 2008. Despite the abstractness of the algebraic-algorithmic approach, Krylov offers a number of specific constructions that are in demand during the fourth industrial revolution and for the future development of industrial technology in nanoelectronics and biotechnology. Industrial technology is considered as a complex object of management, i.e., it is the object of study of the new discipline «neocybernetics». Although the foundations of this approach were laid in 1930s–1960s within the framework of logical and mathematical research, its expansion is inevitable when using self-organization processes to obtain functional supramolecular structures in technological processes of nanoelectronics (for example, DNA origami engineering). The issues of complexity quantification for a product itself (structure) and its manufacturing technology, or, according to Krylov, the complexity of technological automata, have become even more relevant than before. The theoretical issues of self-organization, the development of artificial life, and the creation of self-replicating technical systems also seem promising for solution. In our opinion, Krylov’s formal technology is an important “block” in the advancement of general theory of technologies (GTT) useful for describing the technology at the levels: operation, route, and process. We would like to encourage a wide range of readers to study the book and form a steady interest in general technological issues. The value of GTT and GFT extends beyond the sphere of technology and, in a narrow sense, factory production, but also into the area of «fine» regulation of physiology in biological objects and pharmacy, as well as into the problem field of cognitive sciences, psychology, and education. when the focus is on the personality structure and heterogeneous constructs «floating in the sea of the unconscious». Both S.M. Krylov and we demonstrate that the issues of industrial technology cannot be considered without abstract formalization and without reference to philosophy.

Keywords

• general technology theory
• formal technology
• neocybernetics
• finite-state machines
• synergetics
• complexity