The Irresponsibility Machine: Cybernetic Systems Analysis

This article provides an in-depth analysis of contemporary organizations viewed as complex regulatory systems. Moving away from moral judgments, the author focuses on the technical aspects of control systems, introducing the concept of the "unaccountability machine." The text explores the foundations of cybernetics, such as the POSIWID principle, Ashby's law of necessary diversity, and Stafford Beer's Viable Systems Model (VSM). The reader will learn how bureaucracy, outsourcing, and the disruption of feedback loops lead to the creation of decision-making vacuums and so-called accountability sinks. The analysis demonstrates how debt functions as an information filter and the consequences of the erosion of higher governance systems. This is essential reading for those seeking to understand why large institutions are losing their cognitive capacity and how to restore control by reducing complexity and repairing accountability mechanisms.