Emergence and Hopeful Futures

Explore self-organisation, feedback, and resilience — then apply cybernetic thinking to design hopeful, adaptable futures.

• Gershenson, C. Self-organizing systems: what, how, and why?. npj Complex 2, 10 (2025). Self-organizing systems: what, how, and why?
• Emergent Complexity by Emergent Garden on YouTube. Emergent Complexity (YouTube video)
  

Self-organizing systems: what, how, and why?

As part of Cybernetics for Social Impact KNoTs, this workshop will provide students with space and time to think through what it means by self-organisation, interact with other peers to embody the concept, and understand what makes systems resilient.
We will discuss the emergence of patterns in natural and social contexts and identify key elements, such as agents, interactions, feedback, disruption, to analyse self-organised systems. At the end of the session, we will apply the insights into designing resilient and hopeful futures. Participants will be equipped with a systemic lens to recognise and work with self-organising dynamics in socio-ecological contexts and get inspired to imagine hopeful, emergent futures.

Facilitator

Sungyeon's background is in computational physics with a core interest in pattern formation - whether they be structural or behavioural - via self-organisation in complex systems. Curiosity driven, her love of nature has provided lessons, insights and investigations into intricate connections that have inspired her journey to gain a deeper understanding of how we think, how we operate, and how we strive for the greater good together.

She teaches in ANU's School of Cybernetics as well as being a McCusker Institute Affiliate. Her research aims to better understand the resilience of complex adaptive systems in linguistics and artificial intelligence through a topological lens, as well as to push the boundaries of tech-enabled arts.

Reflect on the concepts from the session and the preparation materials. Complete for your own project or idea the activity developed in the workshop of "Designing for hopeful futures". You can submit this in any format, e.g., via drawing, storytelling, mapping, flowchart, etc.