01_01_Start
Stafford's Work

The Santiago Boys – Cybersyn’s Podcast

September 26, 2023

Content

Half a century ago, South America was on the cutting edge of contesting the power of multinational companies in the sphere of telecommunications. More than that, a distinct blend of radical economics, cybernetics, and democratic politics led to the articulation of its own bold visions for how to use computing power in the name of non-corporate but people-centric development projects. As we confront the challenges presented by the Big Tech of today – from fake news to generative AI – it’s time to re-examine that experience. This is partly the task undertaken in the Santiago Boys podcast, which, in telling the story of Project Cybersyn and Stafford Beer’s involvement in it, aspires to recover some of those earlier experiences in order to inform our own present conundrums with Big Tech.

A Panel with Evgeny Morozov,

Evgeny Morozov is the author of several award-winning books about technology and politics and, most recently, the producer and host of The Santiago Boys podcast. He is also the founder and publisher of The Syllabus, a knowledge discovery platform. Evgeny holds a PhD in History of Science from Harvard University and has previously been a visiting scholar at Georgetown and Stanford universities.

For participants in the webinar, you can find the (9 hours) podcast at:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6mhP2v4GZXzL2Zl6Ndmnne?si=26a01fc836554c38

You can also find an in-depth interview about the podcast (2 hours) at:

https://soundcloud.com/thismachinekillspod/269-the-mythology-of-cybersyn-ft-evgeny-morozov?fbclid=IwAR1eNshjMXZAa5lBV1MVydPLY0Bw3hKXdixtDnKbTb1ZV7AS6P5B6Y61InE


Recent Webinars



02.04.2025

Wicked problem related to climate change adaptation in Venice and its Lagoon and bio-cybernetic principles to address it.


Dr. Christiane Gebhardt

The critical literature review provides a framework for understanding the nature of the wicked problem of the threat of Sea Level Rise arising at the nexus of society and nature. It shows the scope of action for climate change adaptation employing a tentative governance model derived from synthesising literature.



05.03.2025

Exploring a critical organisational praxis – invoking cybernetic thinking, indigenous knowledge and decolonisation


Sujay Dinnalli & Ushma Desai

As India is poised to become the third largest economy, there is a pressing need to look at the state of organisations and people within them. That this constitutes a critical enquiry is evidenced from the low percentage of organised sector workers in the country’s workforce, the dearth of industrial innovation, and other alarming socio-economic indicators. Social research in organisations has looked at the cultural intricacies within organisations, and the challenges hence produced.



05.02.2025

Cybernetics and education: architecture for freedom


Prof. José dos Santos Cabral Filho

This talk will explore the intersection of cybernetics and education, with a specific focus on architectural education.

Scroll to Top