What remains when everything changes – Part 1

Some thoughts from the Norwegian mountains

I’m lucky to have close friends who are thoughtful, smart, engaged, and deeply curious.

This past weekend, I spent time at our cabin in the mountains with two of them — a professor and a surgeon. We talked for hours. About global politics, what’s happening in Norway, the climate, personal values, and the role we each play in society.

Conversations like that stay with me, especially when they’re with people who might see things differently but are open to listening and changing their minds.

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about how much is happening all at once. Wars, political shifts, climate extremes, technology moving fast, especially AI. It can feel like everything is changing at the same time, and it’s hard to know what to focus on. There’s a quiet panic in the background of all that noise.

When things feel like this, I try to remind myself of something simple:

This too shall pass.

It’s a phrase that’s been used for centuries. It’s a quiet reminder that no matter how intense or overwhelming the present moment feels, it’s still just that — a moment. It will change.

But of course, the honest question we all ask is:

When?

And what will that mean for me, and the people I care about?

I don’t have those answers.

So I’ve started asking a different kind of question — one that feels more useful right now:

What hasn’t changed?

At our core, people are still the same. We still want to feel safe. We want meaning in our lives. We want to feel connected to others, and to something larger than ourselves. We want to be useful. We want to be seen.

That’s what psychologist Abraham Maslow was trying to capture when he created his “hierarchy of needs” in the 1940s — a simple framework showing that before we reach for big ideas like self-fulfilment or purpose, we first need the basics: food, shelter, safety, belonging.

That pyramid still holds true today.

And even in the age of AI, none of that is going away.

Even with all the talk about AI, I don’t think the most important impact will be replacing people. If used well, AI might become less of a disruptor and more of a repair tool — helping us cut waste, fix broken systems, and rethink efficiency. I think it will be in helping us waste less, in making production smarter, logistics tighter, and systems run better. Quiet, useful changes that don’t always make headlines.

That’s what I want to explore in this short series: Not just what’s shifting, but what stays steady. And what that might tell us about where to focus our time, energy, and attention.

Next:

In part 2, I’ll look at what happens when anyone can build something using AI — and why speed alone may no longer be enough.

If this makes sense, feel free to follow, share, or leave a comment. I’d love to hear what you’ve been thinking about lately.