Musings and often AI-augmented personal writings of Francis Szakacshttps://futureshock.ai/https://futureshock.ai/p/the-calibration-of-intent/https://futureshock.ai/p/the-calibration-of-intent/Wed, 07 Oct 2026 03:00:00 GMT<p>The blind spot/capability gap for most AI transformation programs is what strategic design disciplines (systems/service/org design) excel in: generating alignment through involvement and participative orchestration.</p><figure><img src="https://futureshock.ai/_astro/diagram.Bys9LsuZ_Z27wxJw.webp" alt="AI-Driven Digital Transformation Intent calibration align actors around purpose/constraints Agency delegated bounded authority to AI agents Blind spot participative sensemaking systems design org design service design Knowledge trusted understanding through use Retrieval relevant memory accessible in context Memory documents, data, code, policies, transcript Owned Data IT AI engineering Knowledge Management .." width="750" height="636" /></figure> <figure><blockquote>“The purpose of singular central standards is to document the calibration of intent that results from a social process of cooperation. It can’t be forced, so it’s not about imposing control or even saving cost. Knowledge is fundamentally individual, it has to work by voluntary cooperation of everyone involved.”</blockquote><figcaption>- Mark Burgess</figcaption></figure><aside><figure><img src="https://futureshock.ai/_astro/Mark_Burgess_2020_Oslo.t_s5UMtp_bRq6U.webp" alt="Mark Burgess" width="979" height="929" /><figcaption><span>Photo: MarkBurgess, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons</span></figcaption></figure><aside><p>Mark Burgess (born 19 February 1966) is an English independent researcher and writer, formerly professor at Oslo University College in Norway and creator of the CFEngine software and company, who is known for work in computer science in the field of policy-based configuration management.</p><p>Promise theory was introduced as a model of voluntary co-operation between agents, in 2004, for understanding human-computer systems with complex interactions, and was later developed with Dutch computer scientist and friend Jan Bergstra into a book.</p><p>Since 2007, Burgess has turned his attention to the matter of knowledge representations and knowledge management, often using Promise Theory as an agency model.</p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Burgess_(computer_scientist)">Wikipedia, “Mark Burgess (computer scientist)”, CC BY-SA 4.0</a></p></aside></aside>