The terms "information" and "control" are traditionally associated with technical systems. However, it should be borne in mind that these systems were created for emulating the functions of living organisms and always modelled, one way or another, their organization, behaviour, etc.
Along with these traditional trends of research in information process in technical systems (systems of telecommunication, computer networks, etc.), the latest years have seen a growth of investigation of information processes in animate nature and society.
The significance of this research is ever growing. The accumulated knowledge calls for the development of an integrated system describing objects and processes, which were previously conceived of as separated. In other words, this domain requires a new scientific synthesis and extension of the traditional concepts of "information", "message" and "control".
This approach may result in a theory of informational interaction of objects of different nature. In the long run it may give rise to a new branch of science - "informatics of interaction".
By analogy with the classical sciences, such as physics (where physical interaction is studied) or mechanics (which investigates mechanical interaction), the informatics of interaction is concerned with a specific kind of interaction - informational interaction of systems. It is carried out by transmitting messages aiming at a certain reaction of the addressee.
The spectrum of information interactions to be studied is extremely large. It can be tentatively divided into three classes by the nature of the interacting objects.
The first class mostly comprises informational interactions in technical systems ranging from the simplest regulators up to global computer networks. The second class encompasses informational interactions of the type "artificial organ - living organism", "human - computer", "researches - non-living object of research", etc. To the third class are relegated informational interactions ranging from the molecular-genetic level through the level of interpersonal communication up to the level of society.
Considering the tremendous variety of the types of informational interaction, one can hardy expect to find simple laws of this interaction, analogous, for example, to Newton's laws in mechanics. However general principles governing informational interaction are well known. For example, a message should not only carry certain information. To be better perceived, it should also be attractive (or fascinating) for the addressee. Some of the characteristics, models, methods and algorithms of the information interaction, which have been developed by now, are sufficiently universal and applicable to all the three classes listed above. To mention but a few:
This list could be easily broadened but even this will suffice to conclude that a system of concepts of informational interaction of inherently different entities has already come into existence, is fruitfully developing and deserves close attention, further rationalizing and support as a new science. It should be emphasized that the development of basic research in this domain is only possible on condition that specialists in informatics work in close cooperation with mathematicians, physicists, chemists, biologists, sociologists, linguists, that is, representatives of all hard and social sciences. At the same time, models and methods of informational interaction give an impetus to the functional study of natural and socio-cultural objects - from the level of fundamental matter structures up to the level of interaction of social groups.