[Blimey, there’s some familiar stuff here!]

jack on X: “From Hierarchy to Intelligence” / X

https://block.xyz/inside/from-hierarchy-to-intelligence

https://t.co/jgZkBvYOPt

— jack (@jack) March 31, 2026

[Share on linkedin at the link below – with link direct to pdf in message]

Great to see such a great crowd at STSP. Feel free to share my piece about agentic AI and the self-managing enterprise. Linked-in can block external links so copy-paste this … sdl.re/AIshowITS

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7443264705017692160/?originTrackingId=%2BiOr8sc8An2zlOaP8SMRgw%3D%3D

See also

https://sdl.re/buildAI-SME

[And his series of papers: https://rational-understanding.com/efgst/

and General Systems Theory course: https://rational-understanding.com/gst-course/ ]

By John A Challoner

Ontology, Applied Ontology, Systems Theory, Social Systems Theory, General Systems Theory

This paper establishes an ontological foundation for General Systems Theory by clarifying the nature of existence, entities, structure, and causality. Adopting an empirically grounded physicalist stance, it assumes that all observed phenomena occur within space-time and that there is no evidence of non-physical entities interacting with the physical universe. On this basis, reality is understood as comprising physically instantiated entities distinguished by boundaries and organised within space-time. The paper develops a systematic account of key ontological concepts. Entities may be considered individually or as sets, exhibiting duality between whole and parts. Abstract entities are reconceptualised as distributed physical configurations, understood both as sets of instances and as characteristics defining classes of entities. Structure is distinguished from configuration as the organised arrangement of entities and their relationships, and information is defined ontologically as non-random, recurring structure in space-time. Relationships are classified as configurational or causal, corresponding respectively to structural arrangement and transfer of matter, energy, or information. Events are defined as time-bounded causal interactions, and networks as interconnected systems of such events. Causality is further analysed through two complementary representations: processtransfer-process (PTP), emphasising relational interactions between systems, and transfer-process-transfer (TPT), emphasising internal transformation within systems. Finally, entities are described in terms of characteristics and states, with change understood as variation in these characteristics over time. Together, these concepts provide a coherent and physically grounded ontology that supports the analysis of systems, processes, and dynamics, and establishes a foundation for subsequent developments in structure, information, thermodynamics, and social systems theory.

https://www.academia.edu/165495501/Ontological_Foundations_of_General_Systems_Theory

To let coding agents work with less supervision, we need ways to increase our confidence in their result. As software engineers, we have a natural trust barrier with AI-generated code – LLMs are non-deterministic, they don’t know our context, and they don’t really understand the code, they think in tokens. This article explores a mental model that brings together emerging concepts from context and harness engineering to build that trust.

02 April 2026

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Birgitta Böckeler

Birgitta is a Distinguished Engineer and AI-assisted delivery expert at Thoughtworks. She has over 20 years of experience as a software developer, architect and technical leader.

https://martinfowler.com/articles/harness-engineering.html

SCIO’s March newsletter – posted in full below:

Hello and welcome to the end of March mailing from SCiO.  Please check the Events page on the website for updates https://www.systemspractice.org/events.
Please note that you are welcome to attend any event (allowing for restrictions on members-only events) so long as you speak and understand the language.

COURSES

Please remember that All thirty-one courses now on the SCiO LMS are discounted 10% to members – use the discount code MEMBER10 when booking.  The courses currently available are here.

Multi-course discounts: There is a discount of 20% for any four or more courses and 25% for considerably more. The full set of courses (including future additions) can be had with a 30% discount and this includes access to coaching.

Organisational Development Programmes: If your organisation is interested to use any or all of the courses, substantial discounts of around 50% are available and bespoke programmes can be prepared.

2026 CONFERENCE

The three-day conference: Systems Thinking Systems Practice, took place at Hull University from 24–26 March 2026. It was good to meet some of you there and I hope that you enjoyed it. SCiO was not as involved in the organisation this year and so I cannot guarantee that as much material will be made available. However, Hull have committed to making everything available that they can and this will include recordings of key note speakers and panels. Other material may be more piecemeal. We will structure it in a single page when we see what we have.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

EVENTS – by country   (click on the name)

SCiO Belgium	SCiO DACH
SCiO Finland	SCiO Ireland
SCiO Nederland	SCiO Polska
SCiO UK

______________________________________________________________

  SCiO UK

SCiO UK Virtual Development Event – April 2026

Tue, Apr 14th, 2026  13:00 – 15:00  GMT

SCiO’s Development Event offer an opportunity to draw upon the collective expertise of SCiO members in a friendly and supportive atmosphere. By taking Development Events online, using the Zoom meeting platform, we aim to make them accessible to more SCiO members. Development Events are both for members who are just starting out on a journey to explore Systems Thinking approaches, and for those who have many years of exploration and practice. This is a bring your issues of interest Development Event.

Members only; FREE; Online event; English  BOOK NOW

SCiO UK Virtual Open Meeting – May 2026

Mon, May 18th, 2026  18:30 – 21:00  GMT+1

Virtual Open Meeting: A series of presentations of general interest to Systems and Complexity in Organisation’s members and others. SCiO organises Open Meetings to provide opportunities for practitioners to learn and develop new practice, to build relationships, networks hear about skills, tools, practice and experiences. This virtual meeting will be held on Zoom.

• Is safety breaking the Laws? – Robin Stowell
• Cross-institutional Community of Practice of Communities of Practice (CoP of CoPs) – Anne Gambles

All welcome; FREE; Online event; English  BOOK NOW

______________________________________________________________

  SCiO Belgium

Werkingsjaarafsluiting: Verken de grenzen van je systemisch denken aan de hand van provocatieve vragen

Tue, May 19th, 2026  19:00 – 21:00  CET+1

In deze laatste activiteit verkennen we hoe we vastgeroeste denkpatronen kunnen doorbreken en nieuwe perspectieven kunnen creëren. Door middel van provocatieve vragen onderzoeken deelnemers de grenzen van hun eigen systemische benadering verkennen en innovatieve oplossingen vinden voor complexe problemen. Enkele voorbeelden die relevant zouden kunnen zijn voor het systeem waarmee je geconfronteerd wordt:

• “Wat als we het probleem precies tegenovergesteld zouden benaderen?”
• “Stel dat de meest onwaarschijnlijke oplossing de juiste is, wat zou die dan zijn?”
• “Wie zou er het meeste baat bij hebben als dit probleem niet werd opgelost?”
• “Welke regels of aannames moeten we breken om een innovatieve oplossing te vinden?”

We vatten de avond zeer interactief op en werken in kleine groepjes, vertrekkende van de systemen waarmee de deelnemers worstelen. Het wordt een avond waarin we creatief, onconventioneel en respectvol gevoelige onderwerpen zullen omdenken.

Members only + guests; 50 euro; Kon. Astridlaan 144, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium; Dutch  BOOK NOW

______________________________________________________________

   SCiO DACH (Deutschland, Österreich, Schweiz)

Entwicklung von Komplexität sowie Arbeits- und Prozessleistung im projektbasierten Maschinenbau

Thu, Apr 23rd, 2026  19:00 – 20:30  CET+1

Zwischenergebnisse einer laufenden Dissertation zur Messbarkeit organisationaler Komplexität im industriellen Umfeld. Im Fokus: Wie nehmen operative Führungskräfte steigende Komplexität wahr – und inwieweit lässt sich diese Wahrnehmung datenbasiert im Unternehmen abbilden? Ein praxisnaher Einblick in erste Befunde, methodisches Vorgehen und weiterführende Forschungsfragen.

Entwicklung von Komplexität sowie Arbeits- und Prozessleistung im projektbasierten Maschinenbau – Carola Ritzinger-Roll

Members only + guests; kostenlos; Online event; German BOOK NOW

______________________________________________________________

  SCiO Finland

Suorituskyvyn rajat – kun ”paras” ei enää riitä

Wed, Apr 1st, 2026  16:00 – 17:30  EEST

Organisaatiot ovat yhä suorituskykyisempiä. Ne optimoivat prosesseja, asettavat tavoitteita, seuraavat mittareita ja palkitsevat onnistumista. Nämä vahvuudet eivät kuitenkaan välttämättä takaa kestävää menestystä tai organisaation elinkelpoisuutta pitkällä aikavälillä. Esityksessä tarkastellaan suorituskykyä organisoivana logiikkana sekä sen rakenteellisia rajoja. Keskustelemme siitä, miten tavoitteilla johtaminen ja suorituskyvyn optimointi menettävät tehoaan ympäristöissä, joissa epälineaarisuus lisääntyy ja arviointikriteerit muuttuvat epävakaiksi, sekä siitä, kuinka nämä rajat usein tulkitaan toimeenpanon ongelmiksi sen sijaan, että kyseenalaistettaisiin taustalla olevia perusoletuksia. Esityksessä tehdään erottelu suorituskykylogiikan ja adaptiivisen logiikan välillä. Tarkoitus ei ole hylätä suorituskykyä, vaan paikantaa sen rajat – ja avata tilaa toisenlaiselle organisoinnin logiikalle.

Suorituskyvyn rajat – kun ”paras” ei enää riitä – Janne J. Korhonen

All welcome; Free; Online event; Finnish BOOK NOW

______________________________________________________________

   SCiO Ireland 

Details of the 2026 programme not added yet. Always worth contacting the organisers through https://www.systemspractice.org/community/ireland.

______________________________________________________________

  SCiO Nederland

SCIO-NL monthly meeting April 2025 (live in Woerden and in Dutch)

Fri, Apr 3rd, 2026  12:30 – 16:00  CET

SCIO-NL komt elke 1e of 2e vrijdag van de maand live bijeen, meestal in Woerden (Pelmolenlaan 2). Er staan (meestal) geen vaste onderwerpen op de agenda (daarvoor organiseren we specifieke andere meetings), maar de ervaring leert dat er altijd wel een interessant gesprek op gang komt over een systemisch onderwerp. Toegankelijk voor iedereen die de jaarlijkse fee voor de live-bijeenkomsten (€50,-) hiervoor betaald. En voor KNVI-leden. En voor gasten. Neem contact op via ed@doitogether.nl als je interesse hebt, maar nog geen lid van de club bent.

NL Members + guests; FREE; Pelmolenlaan 2, Woerden (At the Office) 5, Woerden, Netherlands;  Dutch  BOOK NOW

SCIO-NL monthly meeting May 2025 (live in Woerden and in Dutch)

Fri, May 1st, 2026  12:30 – 16:00  CET

SCIO-NL komt elke 1e of 2e vrijdag van de maand live bijeen, meestal in Woerden (Pelmolenlaan 2). Er staan (meestal) geen vaste onderwerpen op de agenda (daarvoor organiseren we specifieke andere meetings), maar de ervaring leert dat er altijd wel een interessant gesprek op gang komt over een systemisch onderwerp. Toegankelijk voor iedereen die de jaarlijkse fee voor de live-bijeenkomsten (€50,-) hiervoor betaald. En voor KNVI-leden. En voor gasten. Neem contact op via ed@doitogether.nl als je interesse hebt, maar nog geen lid van de club bent.

NL Members + guests; FREE; Pelmolenlaan 2, Woerden (At the Office) 5, Woerden, Netherlands;  Dutch  BOOK NOW

______________________________________________________________

  SCiO Polska

Please check website for meetings.

Steve Hales

Membership Secretary, Treasurer, Online

SCiO – Systems & Complexity in Organisation

The Professional Body for Systems Practitioners

https://recursive.systems/

Abdul Aziz
Strategy & Performance through Empathy, Architecture and Analytics


March 28, 2026

The systems framing: Beyond the 2×2 and why Operating Model Design needs Cybernetic First Principles | LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/systems-framing-beyond-22-why-operating-model-design-needs-abdul-aziz-groje/?trackingId=Gdp1cJh%2FSVAHBD03fgla7A%3D%3D

At #STSP26 I argued systems practice is a humanism.

[Requires one of those infernal ‘now check your email’ logins but the trick is to just keep registering – even if already registered – to read the full article]

Pluralistic and Multi-perspective!

Laksh Raghavan

Reflections on Systems Thinking Systems Practice – 2026 Conference
Pluralistic and Multi-perspective!


Laksh Raghavan

Reflections on Systems Thinking Systems Practice – 2026 Conference

https://www.cyb3rsyn.com/p/reflections-on-systems-thinking-systems-practice-2026-conference

Since Aristotle, we have attempted to avoid self-causation, giving rise to ontic dualisms, Gödel’s incompleteness theorems, and pancomputationalism. In this article, Francisco Varela develops an alternative axiomatic paradigm whose arithmetic and algebra allow us to address self-reference. The implications and interpretation of employing such an alternative mathematical foundation are remarkable, and that is why I will examine it today.

Posted Mar 17, 2026
By Amahury J. L. Díaz

Review | A calculus for self-reference | Complexity Cat

https://www.complexitycat.org/posts/review-calculus-for-self-reference/

27 Mar 2026

A talk given at the Systems Thinking Systems Practice conference at Hull in March 2026

Rich Programmed Activity Models

Karthik Suresh

A talk given at the Systems Thinking Systems Practice conference at Hull in March 2026

Rich Programmed Activity Models – YouTube

Eryk Salvaggio
22 Mar 2026 — 7 min read

Toward a Critical Agentic Systems Design Practice

https://mail.cyberneticforests.com/toward-a-critical-agentic-systems-design-practice/

STPrism is not simply a digital library; it is an architectural framework designed to refract the differing point of views from Systems Thinking and Complexity Science into a coherent collection of principles distilled from the unique voices of individual thinkers.

Nutshell _ Mastering the Muddle

https://stprism.idok.me/Nutshell

Note that deadline for abstracts will be extended till May and full paper till June 1st

https://ieeesystemscouncil.org/event/conference/2026-ieee-international-symposium-systems-engineering

[In the Facebook group ISA RC51 on Sociocybernetics, John A Challoner writes:]

Philosophical Foundations of General Systems Theory

I’m pleased to share a new paper:“Philosophical Foundations of General Systems Theory” (EFGST 01)

This paper sets out the philosophical basis for the Extended Framework for General Systems Theory (EFGST), integrating two complementary perspectives:

 Cognitive Physicalism – everything that exists is physical and located in space–time, including cognition itself

 Critical Realism – reality exists independently of our knowledge, but our understanding of it is always mediated

Together, these provide a realist yet epistemically modest foundation for systems science.

The paper explores several key implications, including:

 systems as real, structured physical entities

 knowledge as model-based and necessarily partial

 the distinction between observable events and underlying causal structures and

 the idea that the future is constrained but not predetermined, unfolding through branching possibilities shaped by interaction and agency.

One theme that runs throughout is that we never act directly on reality itself, but on representations of it; representations that are sufficient for action, but never complete.

To illustrate this, I’ve included a banner image accompanying the paper. You might like to take a careful look at it…

 Download the paper (PDF): https://rational-understanding.com/EFGST#01

 Also available on Academia: https://www.academia.edu/165229843/Philosophical_Foundations_of_General_Systems_Theory

This paper forms the first in a series developing a unified systems framework spanning physical, biological, and social domains.

ISA RC51 on Sociocybernetics | Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/groups/ISARC51Sociocybernetics/?multi_permalinks=10166768202953709&notif_id=1774220628000000&notif_t=group_activity&ref=notif