Dr Steven Watson, University of Cambridge
"From Automation to Autopoiesis: Rethinking Strategy and Technology Management in an Evolving Digital World"
Friday 7 March 2025. 13:30 - 14:30
Online: Zoom
Abstract
In the contemporary organisation where artificial intelligence, algorithmic governance, and digital infrastructures are reshaping industries, traditional approaches to strategy and technology management are increasingly inadequate. This talk outlines how autopoiesis can be used to rethink how organizations engage with evolving technological systems. Moving beyond instrumentalist and deterministic views, this perspective frames technology as a self[1]producing, self-adapting system that co-evolves with human and social systems rather than being a passive tool of efficiency. Drawing on insights from social systems theory, cybernetics, and organizational strategy, this talk explores how autopoietic systems challenge conventional management paradigms. It examines how AI-driven decision-making and generative AI function not merely as automation tools but as meaning mediators, fundamentally altering how organizations create, interpret, and act on knowledge. The discussion will highlight the implications for strategy and governance, emphasizing a shift from control-based planning to adaptive co-evolution. Organizations must move from rigid optimization models toward observational and iterative management approaches, capable of responding to emerging technological dynamics. By embracing autopoietic thinking, business leaders and policymakers can develop strategies that align with the reality of self-evolving technological ecosystems, ensuring resilience and innovation in an increasingly complex digital world.
Bio
Steven Watson is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge. He is also co-founder of the University of Cambridge knowledge enterprise spinout, Cambridge Global Knowledge Nexus. His research uses transdisciplinary approaches, social systems theory, cybernetics; his current focus is on the philosophy and sociology of technology, and in particular the role of generative AI in organisations, education, and society. While his research is strongly theoretical, he integrates this with contextual empirical research and development. His previous professions include secondary school mathematics teacher and telecommunications engineer. He holds degrees in Engineering from the University of Cambridge, a masters in education from the Open University and a PhD Education from the University of Nottingham
For further information, please contact business-seminar-series@glasgow.ac.uk.
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First published: 4 March 2025
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