The location and architecture of Haus der Statistik demonstrates the two-sided nature of the science of cybernetics: On the one hand, the potential of a new organizational model, and on the other, the risks associated with its use as a powerful instrument for surveillance and control. These ambivalent uses of cybernetics are explored in examples from the socialist political regimes of the past as well as the capitalist network society of today. A second focus of the symposium is the consideration of netart and its aesthetic expressions that reflect the cybernetic conditions of the internet, while also being dependent on them.