Why Adaptability is the Key to Innovation in an AI Age

In 2023, Max Park of the US set a new world record for solving a 3x3 Rubik's Cube. He completed the puzzle in 3.13 seconds. However, five years earlier, a machine developed in the US by robotics researchers took just 0.38 seconds. Solving a Rubik’s Cube is not exactly the immediate precursor to Skynet. But it shows how machines can solve intricate problems and perform specific tasks at a speed that’s impossible for humans to match.

It also leads to an important question: how do people thrive in an era of artificial intelligence? The answer, perhaps, lies in evolutionary intelligence. The particularly human traits of curiosity, creativity, collaboration, and adaptability we all have to some degree. According to Dr Angus Hervey and Rebecca Maklad of thought leadership and research company Future Crunch, and keynote speakers at Wholesale Connect 24, these traits give people and organisations the capacity to navigate uncertainty and forge new paths to success. 

Human versatility vs machine speciality

Angus and Rebecca cite Moravec's paradox as a way of thinking about the relative strengths of humans and machines.  
 

“Moravec's paradox is an observation in artificial intelligence and robotics that highlights a counterintuitive phenomenon,” Rebecca says.

“Tasks we find easy and perform often without thought – such as sensory perception, motor skills, and recognizing objects – are difficult for machines. Yet tasks we can find difficult, such as abstract reasoning, logical deduction, are relatively easy for machines.

Machines also tend to be highly specialised. The paradox explains why a robot can solve a Rubik’s Cube in 0.38 seconds but can’t make dinner or comfort a crying child.  

Humans are equipped with versatile machinery. Dextrous fingers, opposable thumbs, a bipedal stance, and brains that constantly forge new neural pathways means humans can perform a staggering array of tasks.

This evolutionary advantage – the result of combined physical and mental capabilities honed over millions of years – spurs innovation and creativity. 

“Our evolutionary intelligence, our adaptability is what allows us to think outside the box, outside the sphere or even outside the stratosphere,” Angus says. “And with that evolutionary intelligence, we can build the most extraordinary things.

“Where human beings really shine is when things get unpredictable,” Rebecca adds. “When the rules get broken, when we must make conceptual leaps by linking together two previously unrelated concepts. And when we do that, that's when we make progress.” 
 

Two ways to increase your AQ

According to Angus and Rebecca, it’s a person’s AQ – their adaptability quotient – that will determine their ability to thrive in unpredictable environments.  

‘Society and businesses often focus on IQ – intelligence – and EQ – empathy. But having a high AQ is about the capacity to adapt to changing circumstances,’ Angus explains.

For business leaders, the need for adaptability is seen in the choice between business-as-usual or responding to uncertainty by forging new, sustainable models.  

The Future Crunch team suggests two ways to nurture high adaptability.
  

The February 29th Mindset 

The first is what they call the February 29th Mindset. To explain this concept, we need to look back at the last leap year. In February 2020, the world was grappling with the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The crisis would reshape how we live. Some changes such as social distancing have disappeared. But shifts such as the rise of remote work, accelerated adoption of digital technologies and the boom in ecommerce have become normalised.

With hindsight, it was clear that business-as-usual wasn’t going to be an option.  
 

“In February 2020, organisations in the world knew that something was up, there was a problem, something new had emerged and it had the potential to change the world,” Angus says. “And yet by far, the most common reaction was to maintain the status quo at the time, it felt like the most responsible reaction would be to tone things down to say, ok, well, this is huge, but let's not be naive.”
 

In March 2020, Rebecca says, the perception changed. Organisations started to pivot rapidly to cater for the new conditions. “These two reactions to exactly the same phenomenon were completely different and yet only days apart overnight. All of the rules had changed and all of the facts were seen in a whole new light.” 

Angus says this approach is not unusual when we encounter a new and transformative phenomenon.

“Organisations tend to react in a binary way. It's either maintain the status quo, watch and wait. Or burn everything down, pivot and change right now”. 

The February 29th Mindset is about entering the space between these two distinct reactions. It’s about trying to envision two potential realities and prepare for both.

“An organisation with a February 29th mindset is able to engage with and play and think really carefully about a new emerging trend, the next wave that's likely to disrupt their industry,” Rebecca says. “And yet at the same time, they're able to remain anchored and composed to prepare themselves to catch that next wave when it truly arrives.” 

‘Strong ideas, lightly held’

Future Crunch’s second tip for increasing AQ is borrowed from scientific research. 

“It can feel uncomfortable to have to have our ideas or beliefs challenged. And being wrong can feel worse,” Rebecca says. “Yet the scientific method insists that, when new evidence or a contrary opinion comes along, you must admit the possibility it has value. You have to accept you may be wrong. When new information comes along, you can use it to improve your own ideas and decision-making.”

Adaptable people can avoid this feeling and lower their resistance to change by always admitting that there is a possibility they could be wrong.  
 

“Adaptable people hold their opinions lightly. They are open to being challenged,” Angus says. 
 

This approach has powerful benefits for businesses. If you show your team that you can take on other views and evolve your thinking, you give them the space to share their ideas.  

According to Future Crunch, this is a secret superpower we can all use. As Angus sums it up:

“Adaptability leads to collaboration. And collaboration always trumps genius.”