AI isn’t just a new tool for the modern workplace; it’s already quietly reshaping how some companies are organized. Companies including Amazon, Moderna, and McKinsey are already eliminating management layers, working to flatten organizations, and deploying AI agents to automate routine work.
TL;DR
- Amazon, Moderna, and McKinsey are flattening organizations by eliminating management layers and using AI agents.
- AI agents can automate routine work, freeing managers from administrative duties to focus on planning and coaching.
- Organizations must redefine management roles and reward human qualities as AI takes over more tasks.
- Over-reliance on AI for feedback and recognition can diminish employee perception of managers.
Industry leaders speaking at Coins2Day’s Brainstorm AI conference suggested that as AI takes over aspects of corporate organizational structures, people might be freed from certain tedious management duties. Danielle Perszyk, a Cognitive Scientist at Amazon’s AGI SF Lab, noted that managers presently dedicate significant time to being overwhelmed by digital instruments and administrative duties: “Whether you are a manager or an IC, you are tethered to your computer screen, and all of the productivity apps that we are using are actually undermining our productivity.”
AI agents acting as “universal teammates” and performing certain duties might enable executives to break free from this pattern, according to Perszyk, giving them the opportunity to concentrate on planning. Aashna Kircher, Group General Manager in the Office of the CHRO at Workday, stated that this could liberate managers' schedules for different types of responsibilities. “The role of the manager will very much be as a coach and enabler and a team work director, which theoretically has always been the role,” she commented.
Toby Roberts, Senior Vice President of Engineering and Technology at Zillow, stated that the move towards AI agents might significantly alter organizational hierarchies. He suggested that freeing managers from daily trivialities could enable them to supervise more extensive workforces.
Nevertheless, as artificial intelligence takes over a greater portion of managers' duties, organizations might have to redefine their understanding of what management entails in the era of AI.
“Historically, we’ve measured management by the output of their teams, not necessarily by the human qualities of being a manager,” Kircher said. Organizations need to build “accountability and incentive structures around rewarding the things that are going to be absolutely critical moving forward for people leaders.”
What AI can’t do
Excessive or improper use of AI may also lead to adverse consequences in how people interact. According to Kate Niederhoffer, Chief Scientist and Head of BetterUp Labs, companies risk diminishing their employees' capacity for effective teamwork when supervisors depend too heavily on AI for collaborative tasks.
“Direct reports’ perceptions of managers go down the more they perceive AI and agents to be used in moments of recognition or providing constructive feedback,” Niederhoffer said. “People perceive that humans are better at these empathetic and more essentially human tasks.”
Certain supervisors already find it challenging to handle the emotional aspects of guiding others, with numerous becoming “accidental managers”—personnel who advanced due to their work capabilities instead of interpersonal abilities.
But AI’s “synthetic empathy”—even if it’s sometimes more consistent than human interactions—is not the answer, said Stefano Corazza, Head of AI Research at Canva. “The more AI there is, the more authenticity is valued,” he said. “If your manager really shows that he will spend time with you and cares, that goes a long way.”
