I've noticed the word "artifact" used in a similar sense as "system", with no overly obvious distinction [1]. One that comes to mind is an "artifact" being something we're considering in relation to its human origins, and "system" being something we are considering in terms of finding an optimal representation. For example, we could consider TCP/IP an artifact if we're talking about its design, or a system if we're talking about studying its inherent properties [2].
Or is this off? Cheers, Andrey 1. The former, mostly in Brooks' "The Design of Design". The latter, mostly in writings relating to VPRI's work. 2. Kay makes a similar distinction between "invention/engineering" and "research/science" here: http://computinged.wordpress.com/2010/04/23/alan-kay-on-hoping-that-simple-is-not-too-simple/#comment-2318
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