Cybernetics used to fascinate me in my youth. Hailed as the science of communication and control in the animal and the machine, it was the rage at the time. Back then, I was one of the pioneers of conscious and purposive application of the infinite variety of randomization procedures that could match the infinite variety of the uncertain future (“Homage to Ashby,” March 3, 1980). For my sins, I even taught a course bearing the very title of Ashby’s famous book on the subject (“My Teaching Experience,” November 1, 2017). Cybernetics comes from the Greek word κυβερνητικός, meaning “skilled in steering or governing.” By and by, this scientific discipline has shrunk into insignificance, and the original term has been reduced to “cyber,” meaning anything and everything having to do with the Internet, including its mushrooming dark side. Thus cyberspace, cyberlaw, and cybersecurity, for instance. As well as cyberbullying, cybersex, and cybercrime. Lately, it pops up in ominous words, such as cyberattack, cyberterrorism, and cyberwarfare. According to the cognoscenti, cyberwar is one of the greatest threats of our era, which is why the American military has recently inaugurated a new branch called Cyber Force that complements the old ones—Army, Air Force, and Navy. Looking back, a marvelous tool such as the Internet has turned into a menacing weapon in just a few decades. A useful measure of technological progress, this. By comparison, it must have taken the axe a few thousand years to turn from a tool to a weapon.

Addendum I (August 30, 2019)

The Donald has just announced the formation of the United States Space Force, which is to control military space operations. The new branch has been launched with great fanfare. “It’s a big deal,” the forty-fifth American president announced with a smirk on his face, “the new warfighting domain.” Together with the Cyber Force, the Space Force will surely be invincible. Three cheers for technological progress! As well as the Donald, its cheerleader.

Addendum II (August 30, 2020)

As I just accidentally learned from a clip on the Financial Times website, the United States Space Force now has a formidable Latin motto—Semper supra. Always above, that is. What amazes me about this piece of news is that the language of my ancestors is still alive when it comes to good old war. Hooray!