Books about Machinics from Amazon.com

In The Allure of Machinic Life, John Johnston examines new forms of nascent life that emerge through technical interactions within human-constructed environments—"machinic life"—in the sciences of cybernetics, artificial life, and artificial intelligence. With the development of such research initiatives as the evolution of digital organisms, computer immune systems, artificial protocells, evolutionary robotics, and swarm systems, Johnston argues, machinic life has achieved a complexity and autonomy worthy of study in its own right.

Drawing on the publications of scientists as well as a range of work in contemporary philosophy and cultural theory, but always with the primary focus on the "objects at hand"—the machines, programs, and processes that constitute machinic life—Johnston shows how they come about, how they operate, and how they are already changing. This understanding is a necessary first step, he further argues, that must precede speculation about the meaning and cultural implications of these new forms of life.

Developing the concept of the "computational assemblage" (a machine and its associated discourse) as a framework to identify both resemblances and differences in form and function, Johnston offers a conceptual history of each of the three sciences. He considers the new theory of machines proposed by cybernetics from several perspectives, including Lacanian psychoanalysis and "machinic philosophy." He examines the history of the new science of artificial life and its relation to theories of evolution, emergence, and complex adaptive systems (as illustrated by a series of experiments carried out on various software platforms). He describes the history of artificial intelligence as a series of unfolding conceptual conflicts—decodings and recodings—leading to a "new AI" that is strongly influenced by artificial life. Finally, in examining the role played by neuroscience in several contemporary research initiatives, he shows how further success in the building of intelligent machines will most likely result from progress in our understanding of how the human brain actually works..
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Taking its cue from poststructuralist deconstruction, this study develops a new concept of technics, technique, and technology This new concept of technics is located at a quasi-ontological level, and it thereby becomes possible to renegotiate the relation between being and technics. Technics is understood as an operative force that is inscribed with multiplicity and heterogeneity from the very outset, while at the same time defying rigid order and origin.This leads to a new conceptualization of the machine. The author distinguishes between three different machines: a literary machine, a metaphysical machine, and a political machine. These three machines constantly interrelate, but while the metaphysical machine plays a decisive role in structuring the interrelation between these three machines, the literary machine plays a decisive role in deconstructing the interrelations..
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Are the combined human resources at AMADA MACHINICS CO., LTD. productive? There is no absolute answer to this question This report considers the extent to which the company's labor deployment indicators differ from global benchmarks. In this report we consider forecasts of differences between labor ratios and the resulting return on this human investment compared to global benchmarks; the estimation of such differences is commonly called a "gap analysis." What is the ratio of short-term and long-term assets to employee? What are typical capital-labor ratios? How different are these ratios to companies serving the same link in the value chain? What are the average sales and net profits per employee compared to global benchmarks? These and over 50 other indicators of labor productivity are considered in this report. The report does so by going beyond traditional analyses by considering companies competing in the same or similar industrial classification at a global level. The goal of this report, therefore, is to assist consultants, human resource managers, strategic planners, and corporate officers in gauging estimates of a company's human resource indicators compared to firms competing or participating in the same economic sector, at the global level. This report is not about whether a particular company or industry has performed well or poorly in the past or will do so in the future. With the globalization of markets, greater foreign competition, and the reduction of entry barriers, it becomes all the more important to benchmark a company's human resource indicators against other firms on a worldwide basis. Doing so, however, is not an obvious task. First, one needs to find firms competing in the same sector, but not necessarily competing directly with the company in local markets. These firms should not be perceived, therefore, to be direct competitors to the company in question, but simply those that have been classified by various sources (e.g. EDGAR or similar foreign filings), as competing to serve customers in the same link of the value chain, or broad industrial classification, as identified by SIC, NAICS or similar codes. Second, given the international nature of the task, one needs to control for exchange rate volatility. Finally, one needs use comparable financial standards. This report overcomes these issues and gives full human resources benchmarks vis-a-vis worldwide competitors who are present in the same narrow industrial classification. Benchmarks cover labor-asset ratios, labor-liability ratios, and labor-income ratios. Since our reports are printed on demand, the statistics reported are for the latest quarter and are the most up to date available (4 updates are produced each year). Each report provides over 100 statistics and 40 graphs to the reader. This reports is on AMADA MACHINICS CO., LTD., ISEHARA CITY, Japan..
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How do current developments in urbanism open up new opportunities in the field of landscape? Equally, how does landscape help us conceive of new conditions for urbanism?
This book brings together speculations on the future of landscape urbanism by a number of internationally renowned urbanists, architects, landscape architects and theorists including Abalos & Herreros, Larry Barth, Peter Beard, Florian Beigel, James Corner, Desvigne & Dalnoky, Keller Easterling, FOA, Christopher Hight, Detlef Mertins, Mohsen Mostafavi, Ciro Najle, Ocean North and Reiser & Umemoto.
Their texts are complemented by projects developed within the framework of the Landscape Urbanism programme at the Architectural Association..
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