In this episode, we chat again with John Doyle about the frontiers of control theory. Starting from the fascinating interplay between bacteria, physics, and the Internet, we explore the universal laws that govern complex systems. We discuss the inner workings of phenomena like earthquakes, wildfires, and sepsis, emphasizing the vital role of control theory in understanding intrinsic tradeoffs and fragilities. Finally, we discuss the essential components of a full theory of architectures, including universal laws, layers, levels, and diversity-enabled sweet spots.
Outline
00:00 - Intro
03:00 - Complex systems, physics, and the Internet
08:31 - On power laws
13:45 - SBML: Systems Biology Markup Language
18:51 - Layered architectures
21:38 - Earthquakes
26:17 - Wildfires
28:25 - Sepsis
37:18 - Essentials of a theory of architectures
54:10 - Universal laws, layers and levels
1:00:30 - Diversity enabled sweet spots
1:12:49 - Witsenhausen’s counterexample and SLS
1:21:25 - On the internal model principle
1:29:38 - Evolution vs intelligent design
1:33:37 - Fragility and societal implications
1:44:31 - Outro
Links
Highly optimized tolerances and power laws paper: https://tinyurl.com/3yk2mycp
Robust perfect adaptation in bacterial chemotaxis paper: https://tinyurl.com/3fn62a73
SBML: https://sbml.org/
Internet congestion control paper: https://tinyurl.com/4rjcd724
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions: https://tinyurl.com/44n9y23u
Wildfires paper: https://tinyurl.com/2dvdh8ap
Turbulence paper: https://tinyurl.com/3sbsf8nj
Sepsis paper: https://tinyurl.com/55wse56f
Distributed LQG with delays paper: https://tinyurl.com/2abjdmb4
Diversity-enabled sweet spots in layered architectures paper: https://tinyurl.com/vvaxvwb8
Mountain biking game: https://tinyurl.com/46yh559r
System-level synthesis paper: https://tinyurl.com/2ez64jev
Internal feedback in biological control paper: https://tinyurl.com/576zdfrx
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Podcast info
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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.
