Cybernetics, Art and Creativity

Paul Pangaro recounted his introduction to cybernetics through meeting Gordon Pask in 1976 via Nicholas Negroponte at MIT. He described Pask's distinctive experimental methodology of creating machines and observing their emergent outcomes, exemplified by the Music Color device that incorporated second-order feedback loops. Pask's conversation theory provided a formal framework for understanding how meaning arises through interaction.

Pangaro advocated for a fundamental shift from engineer-as-designer to conversation-as-designer, arguing that the most important systems emerge through ongoing dialogue rather than top-down specification. He also raised concerns about the growing corporate control exercised through digital platforms, warning that proprietary systems can restrict the very conversational dynamics that make creative innovation possible. His presentation bridged cybernetic theory with urgent questions about technological governance.