Oh, the Systems we Build

Artificial intelligence has reached approximately 53% global adoption in just three years, which is faster than either the personal computer or the Internet. At the same time, leading AI platforms now serve more than 900 million users each week, while nearly 88 percent of organizations report using AI in at least one business function. In only a few years, artificial intelligence has moved from research labs and technology circles into classrooms, offices, hospitals, governments, and homes. Humans are once again reorganizing themselves around a transformative technology, and I am interested in documenting what that means.

History suggests that technological revolutions are never solely about technology. The Industrial Revolution was not simply about steam engines; it reshaped labor, commerce, cities, education, and daily life. The Internet was not merely a network of computers; it transformed how people communicate, learn, organize, and participate in society. Artificial intelligence appears poised to become the next chapter in that story, influencing not only the tools we use but also the ways we create knowledge, make decisions, and collaborate with one another.

That's why I've spent so much of my life thinking about information systems, both what it takes to manage one and who that system impacts.

Some of the systems that've fascinated me most have been technological. Others have been organizational, cultural, or economic. At first glance, these interests may appear unrelated. Yet the older I become, the more convinced I am that these niches are different expressions of the same curiosity: a desire to understand how people create, organize, maintain, and evolve the structures that shape their lives.

For nearly fifteen years, I've worked in technology. During that time, I have supported users, managed knowledge, maintained systems, documented processes, coordinated communications, and helped organizations navigate change. The environments have varied from help desks and server rooms to conference rooms and remote offices, but my underlying objective has remained consistent; I've always wanted systems to function effectively so people can accomplish meaningful work in the office and rest completely in their leisure.

Over time, I began to notice that the most interesting challenges were rarely technical alone. Behind every application, process, policy, and platform were people attempting to coordinate activity, preserve knowledge, solve problems, and adapt to change. For every business challenge, technology provided the tools, but humans shaped the outcomes. As I developed professionally, I saw the information systems I supported were not only technical, they were human systems as well.

Long before artificial intelligence became a daily topic of conversation, I was fascinated by computing technology. I grew up during a period when the Internet transformed from a novelty into essential infrastructure. Entire industries were reshaped within a single generation. New forms of communication emerged. Communities that once depended on physical proximity suddenly formed across great distances. Access to information expanded dramatically, altering how people learned, worked, and interacted with one another. To my great fortune, my dad encouraged my interest in technology by sharing everything he learned from work.

Today, we find ourselves experiencing another technological transition. Much like the early Internet, the long-term implications remain uncertain, but the scale of adoption suggests that the impact may be equally profound. The technologies themselves are fascinating, but what interests me most is how individuals, organizations, and communities respond to them. Every major technological shift creates opportunities, challenges, tensions, and unintended consequences. It changes not only what people do, but how they organize themselves to do it.

These transitions, driven by technology, are ultimately human stories.

Perhaps that is why I've never been satisfied with viewing technology in isolation. Throughout my career, I have found myself drawn toward the places where technology intersects with people. In an information system, the technical components absolutely matter because they determine how closely tool configuration matches defined business objectives, but they're only part of a larger picture. Behind every application, process, policy, and platform are individuals attempting to solve problems, share knowledge, coordinate activities, and create value. In every era, I'm drawn to people using tech to solve complex problems.

My educational background reinforced this perspective. After beginning my academic journey in astrophysics, I felt that somehow... studying the entire universe was too narrow given my interests. Eventually, to fill what I perceived as a gap in my studies, I pursued an interdisciplinary studies degree focused on business operations, organizational culture, and marketing. While these fields may seem distant from technology, they introduced questions that continue to shape my thinking today. Why do some organizations adapt successfully to change while others struggle? How is knowledge preserved and shared? What enables groups of people to coordinate effectively over long periods of time? How do systems maintain coherence as they grow more complex?

These questions proved just as relevant in technology as they were in business. As I learned more about the intersection of business and technology, I became interested in digital placemaking efforts and community development. I wanted to understand how people transform physical spaces into places that carry identity, meaning, and memory. Why do certain neighborhoods develop strong senses of community? What encourages people to invest in a place and care for it over time? How do communities and the individuals within them preserve their character while adapting to changing circumstances? How does placemaking translate to digital spaces?

The more I explored these subjects, the more I noticed familiar patterns. A successful in-person group depends on participation, trust, shared norms, and collective stewardship. The same is true of economically-motivated organizations (like small businesses in your neighborhood and big businesses in corporate America). The same is true of digital communities because technology platforms rely on these human principles. Whether a system exists in a physical environment or a digital one, people must find ways to create shared understanding, establish governance, exchange knowledge, and sustain engagement.

In many ways, placemaking occurs in digital spaces as well as physical.

Organizations build internal communities around shared goals. Teams develop cultures that influence how work is performed. Knowledge repositories become collective memory. Communication platforms create environments where relationships are formed and maintained. As our lives become increasingly intertwined with technology, the distinction between physical and digital spaces becomes less rigid than it once appeared. Information systems are evolving.

This perspective has become particularly valuable as I have spent more time studying artificial intelligence and machine learning operations. Public discussions about AI often focus on models, algorithms, and capabilities. These topics are important, but they represent only one dimension of the challenge. The moment AI moves beyond experimentation and into operational environments, broader questions emerge. How should organizations govern these systems? How should decisions be monitored and evaluated? How should knowledge be managed? How should trust be established and maintained? These are technical questions, but they are also organizational and social questions.

Consequently, the more I learn about AI, the more I find myself returning to ideas that have influenced my thinking for years. Technology does not exist independently of the people who build and use it. Every system reflects human priorities, assumptions, incentives, and values. Understanding technology therefore requires understanding the environments in which it operates. Likewise, understanding organizations increasingly requires understanding the technologies that shape modern work. This blog exists at the intersection of those interests.

Some articles will explore cloud computing, artificial intelligence, governance, cybersecurity, and enterprise architecture. Others will focus on organizational culture, knowledge management, community development, and placemaking. Occasionally, these subjects may appear to diverge. More often, I suspect they will converge in unexpected ways. The same questions that help explain the success of a neighborhood can illuminate reasons for the success of an organization. Lessons learned from managing knowledge within a major business may also help explain how local communities preserve culture across generations.

The common thread of my writing is a fascination with information systems and the people who create them.

We are living through a period of profound change. No two ways about that. Each day, new technologies emerge to reshape long-standing institutions, industries, and daily life at extraordinary speed. Yet despite this constant evolution, certain human challenges remain notably consistent. We still seek understanding. We still form communities. We still build organizations. We still create structures that allow us to cooperate, share knowledge, and pursue goals larger than ourselves.

Technology will undoubtedly occupy an important place in these discussions. It always has in my life. But technology alone is not the story. Every generation inherits systems, modifies them, and leaves new ones behind. Some take the form of neighborhoods. Some become institutions. Some emerge as technologies that reshape entire societies. Understanding those systems, and the people who build them, has become one of the defining interests of my life.

That is the conversation I intend to continue in the years ahead. These enduring patterns are what I will explore. It is my great hope, that you grow alongside me.