Adaptive Advantage and Identity Transformation in the Era of AI

The article analyzes organizational transformation not as a simple technological process, but as a profound identity crisis. The author introduces the concept of liminality—a 'between' state in which old competencies and statuses lose significance, while new ones have not yet been formed. In the context of AI, this phenomenon intensifies the fear of losing professional prestige and the meaning of previous investments in personal development. The text emphasizes that the greatest adaptive challenge is not learning new tools, but changing the answer to the question of one's own role in the system. Modern liminality often becomes a prolonged state of suspension, leading to weakened group identification and anxiety, requiring a new approach to humanism in management.