From AI to Adaptive Systems
- Lisa Askins
- 11 hours ago
- 2 min read
How systems reorganize to keep moving.
I often start researching one thing and end up somewhere completely different.
I was comparing Meta, Cisco, and LinkedIn to understand why three companies heavily investing in AI were making seemingly similar workforce decisions.
It became clear that these companies weren't simply adopting AI. They were adapting toward different futures.
That observation led me to a different question.
How do organizations adapt when the environment itself is changing?
This question refused to stay in one place.
It followed me into history.
I found myself reading about the Bronze Age collapse and wondering why some knowledge survived while other knowledge disappeared.
It led me to think about the Roman Empire, not simply why it declined, but how large-scale coordination eventually reemerged.
Then, unexpectedly, the same question showed up while I was watching a World Cup match.
Not who won.
Not who scored.
But how movement emerged.
How coordination formed.
How pathways opened and closed as the game evolved.
At first, these examples seemed completely unrelated.
But the same patterns kept appearing.
Different subjects. The same underlying question.
I realized I wasn't really studying AI.
I was studying adaptation.
More specifically, I was studying movement.
What allows people, organizations, communities, and even civilizations to continue moving when conditions change?
The same questions kept appearing.
What is being preserved?
What is being lost?
What pathways remain available?
What capabilities make future adaptation possible?
I'm still exploring where these questions lead.
But they've changed how I think about organizational change.
Perhaps the most interesting story isn't AI itself.
Perhaps it's the way adaptive systems reorganize to keep moving.
Let’s talk. You don’t have to navigate changing work environments alone. If you’re exploring what comes next, trying to better position your experience, or looking for more clarity about where you fit in a changing market, I’d be happy to connect.
