Perceiving data: Cybernetic in the age of AI robotics

What are robots today, what are they becoming, and what can they do? This article traces the shift introduced by cybernetics, which redefined robots as systems capable of perception and behavioral adaptation. Within this framework, contemporary AI is examined as a robotic agent whose training datasets act as sensorial environments shaping its cognitive and agentive functions. The final section focuses on human-AI interfaces, from PCs to embedded media, arguing that their transparency reinforces extractivist dynamics. The article concludes by returning to Wiener’s cybernetics as a lens for critically addressing emerging socio-ethical challenges in contemporary media ecology.