An ontological model of the dual nature of safety in technical systems

The aim of this study is to structure the aspects of control and safety in technical systems using the concepts of entropy, negentropy, and information, in order to identify additional factors for assessing controllability and loss of control in the process of decision-making or the loss of emergence. The article examines specific properties of ergatic systems that contribute to forming the informational basis for describing the structure, control, and safety levels of technical systems. A two-level ontological framework is proposed for evaluating the controllability of a technical system through the analysis of its informational characteristics. Negentropy is interpreted as an indicator of the system’s condition, reflecting the combined effect of internal properties and external influences on its functionality. The configuration and number of safety subsystems define the upper limits of controllability and safety within a technical system, including in scenarios involving emergence. The dualism of safety lies in capturing both the negentropy (describing the state of order in the system, as well as its actual — or worst-case — levels and structure of control and safety) and the information about the state of control and safety (expressed through the required number and configuration of safety subsystems needed to achieve optimal performance). The article compares several concepts and regularities from information theory and thermodynamics for their applicability within the ontological framework of safety dualism. The analysis of safety dualism enables the comparison of structural and control architectures in technical system designs, the identification of factors contributing to successful or failed control, the definition of conditions under which emergence is lost, expert assessment of communication and control systems, and the development of optimal control and safety regimes—taking into account both resource depletion and the need for resource replenishment.