Maxwell and the formalization of stability

Outline
00:00 – Intro
07:22 – Anatomy of a feedback loop
15:12 – A brief historical recap on the history of feedback
23:40 – Inventing the negative feedback amplifier
34:28 – Feedback in biology, economics, society, and ... board games!
52:44 – Negative vs positive feedback
59:15 – Feedback, causality, and the arrow of time
1:06:22 – Classics: fundamental limitations, uncertainty, robustness
1:21:30 – Adaptive control: learning in the loop
1:29:50 – Modern AI feedback loops (RL, social media, alignment)
1:40:40 – Outro

Links
Watt’s flyball governor: https://tinyurl.com/ne5nene3
Maxwell - "On Governors": https://tinyurl.com/2a7cxj7m
Black - "Inventing the negative-feedback amplifier": https://tinyurl.com/yevsemdp
Nyquist Criterion: https://tinyurl.com/33hfbw8m
Bode's integral: https://tinyurl.com/53sxkdzu
Wiener - "Cybernetics": https://tinyurl.com/yta899ay
Apoptosis: https://tinyurl.com/mcxjycka
Predator–prey dynamics (Lotka–Volterra): https://tinyurl.com/5cvx33tn
Bird migration cues (photoperiodism): https://tinyurl.com/y2e7t22v
Neuron action potentials: https://tinyurl.com/2wemwdn4
Economic equilibrium & feedback: https://tinyurl.com/nhdx7r3s
Echo chambers: https://tinyurl.com/4v8yk7e8
Game design: https://tinyurl.com/bdhdhv38
Gap metric (Vinnicombe): https://tinyurl.com/y9nw3yve
Georgiou, Smith - "Feedback Control and the Arrow of Time": https://tinyurl.com/5xvj76jr
Annaswamy, Fradkov - "A Historical Perspective of Adaptive Control and Learning": https://tinyurl.com/4nfew8vm
Algorithmic trading flash crash (2010): https://tinyurl.com/2dsrs8j2
AI alignment: https://tinyurl.com/yvs3wnj8

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Acknowledgments and sponsors
This episode was supported by the National Centre of Competence in Research on «Dependable, ubiquitous automation» and the IFAC Activity fund. The podcast benefits from the help of an incredibly talented and passionate team. Special thanks to L. Seward, E. Cahard, F. Banis, F. Dörfler, J. Lygeros, ETH studio and mirrorlake . Music was composed by A New Element.