VON-FOERSTER'S CONJECTURE—TRIVIAL MACHINES AND ALIENATION IN SYSTEMS

Abstract

In this paper, we demonstrate how the proper modelling of general systems allows us to address the question of how the actions of many independent but inter-connected agents contribute to a global behaviour. In particular, we apply the techniques of information theory to probabilistic automata to formalize and prove what has come to be known as the „Von-Foerster conjecture”.

In the first part of this paper we describe Von-Foerster's conjecture in its historical context. In the second part we restate it using formal definitions and we prove it.

INDEX TERMS:

• Alienation
• information theory
• environment
• cooperation
• probabilistic automata