What is the interdisciplinary study of control and communication in living beings and machines known as?

The interdisciplinary study of control and communication in living beings and machines is best described as cybernetics. This field emerged in the mid-20th century and focuses on understanding how systems, both biological and mechanical, maintain stability and respond to changes in their environment through feedback loops and communication pathways.

Cybernetics encompasses various domains, including biology, engineering, computer science, and sociology, as it seeks to uncover the principles that govern the operation of complex systems. By studying the interactions and processes in these systems, cybernetics enables better design and understanding of not only machines but also ecosystems and social systems.

The other options pertain to distinct areas of study. Robotics refers specifically to the design and creation of robots, artificial intelligence focuses on creating intelligent agents capable of performing tasks that normally require human intelligence, and systems theory is a broader framework for studying complex systems and their interrelations but does not specifically address the control and communication aspects as focused as cybernetics does.