Temporal Viability Theory: A Cybernetic Framework for Time‐Bound Viability in Socio‐Technical and Algorithmic Systems

ABSTRACT This article reconceptualises viability in organisational cybernetics as a temporal phenomenon, arguing that the persistence of socio‐technical systems cannot be understood apart from their temporal structure. Drawing on Stafford Beer's Viable System Model (VSM), we propose a temporal‐viability operator that defines viability as a finite, recursively accumulated timespan generated by the interplay of systemic growth, decay and intervention. Through a conceptual analysis of 95 of Beer's texts, we identify 11 temporal dimensions underlying cybernetic viability, including recursive time, latency, emergence and timespan hierarchies. Building on this, we develop eight theoretical propositions and formalise them across six cybernetic models, each articulating how viability emerges, how it is sustained or degrades over time. The framework is tested through thought experiments involving algorithmically managed cooperatives and AI‐powered customer service systems. We demonstrate that algorithmic acceleration compresses decision windows and threatens system coherence, even when surface metrics indicate success. By reintegrating temporality into viability theory, this article contributes a transferable framework for diagnosing failure trajectories and designing resilient, democratically accountable AI‐mediated organisations. The study situates viability at the intersection of systems theory, philosophy of time and technological governance, offering a philosophical intervention into the design and regulation of complex adaptive systems.