Control and society

The concept of system, as a set of components and their relations and interactions, is a common one in Nature, human-made devices and human society. And most systems can be considered as composed of subsystems, one of them being the control subsystem. In this paper, first, the controlled behavior of natural systems is emphasized, pointing out what is being learned from them to develop automatic control systems in different fields of application. Then, the relevance of the control subsystem in many important industrial developments is also discussed. In human activities, control and regulating systems also play a crucial role. In this Digital Era, the relevant role played by Communication, Computers and Control is also analyzed. Some illustrative examples will serve as a reference for further discussion. Finally, some advanced topics related with the CCC technology are reviewed.