Organic Computing: Metaphor or Model?

Abstract

Organic Computing is the most recent approach in the field of ambient technologies, aiming at the complete integration of technical systems into the space of human action. As such, the application of this type of technology generates severe technical, societal and political problems. These problems are necessarily connected with a proper understanding of the applied technologies, their potentials as well as their limits. A proper understanding is a necessary prerequisite not only for the "philosophical" evaluation of a technology at hand-it is just as relevant to the immanent development of Organic Computing technologies themselves. In order to reach such an understanding it is useful to scrutinise the metaphorical expressions, which are used by the scientist developing the technologies in question. Accordingly the main aim of this article is the systematic analysis of some central metaphors- particularly "evolution" and "self-organisation". The metaphorical expressions are reconstructed methodologically by applying the culturalist model-procedure, which allows the explication of metaphors in terms of "as if" relations. Based on the results of this reconstruction, the pragmatic and semantic limits and perspectives of Organic Computing can be determined.