What can livecoding teach us about cyber-physical systems?

Dr Ben Swift

3Ai lecture/workshop, S2 2019

outline

Ben live @ 3Ai

what makes a CPS?

what can livecoding teach us about CPS?

what is a cyber-physical system?

advanced robotics, smart grids, autonomous cars, machine learning — literally all around us, with unprecedented economic, social and cultural impact

from the 3Ai homepage

what are the key questions? the boundary cases?

the livecoding lens

Extempore is a cyber-physical programming language

(Andrew Sorensen’s PhD thesis)

the As

autonomy · agency · potatoes · assurance

autonomy

just because we can automate something, should we?

where’s the autonomy in livecoding? what does failure look like? what intervention could help?

agency

how much agency do we give technology to act without human oversight?

where’s the agency in livecoding? what does failure look like?

assurance

how do we preserve our safety and values as algorithms cross borders?

where’s the assurance in livecoding? what does failure look like?

there are some Is as well as the As

indicators

how do we measure success once systems learn and change?

efficiency starts to clash with sustainability, beauty, values

interfaces

how will humans and systems work together when ‘smart’ objects are all around us, sensing and responding?

intent

why was the system built? by whom? and for what purposes?

questions?