Author: Jurgen Appelo

There was a time when computer games were created by individuals or, at most, small teams of one programmer, one visual artist, and one music composer. But these days are long behind us. There are large teams of dozens, sometimes hundreds, creating computer games these days because the market has kept pushing for bigger and more complex products. The same has happened in many other industries.

This escalating complexity of work means that everyone now relies on everyone else to meet customer expectations and elevated quality standards. The era where tiny teams or even individuals could manage complete projects on their own seems to have faded into the background.

However, the current trend suggests a drift back to a bygone era, thanks to the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Instead of relying on each other, workers are increasingly turning to AI for accomplishing creative and demanding tasks. There is a shift in team dynamics where structures are becoming looser, smaller, and more transient. Rather than relying on ever-increasing teams of humans, we will increasingly make ourselves dependent on dozens of AI copilots.

Ultimately, we can expect teams to become a mix of humans and AIs, possibly with just one human overseeing the work of multiple AI entities. Moreover, if advancements in AI continue at the current pace, we might witness the realization of artificial general intelligence (AGI), where machines would be capable of performing any intellectual task a human can. In such a scenario, the integration of AI in teams would not just be about assistance or augmentation but could evolve into much more sophisticated collaborations.

“We propose that AI will not (just) be the functionality of a tool but rather a machine teammate characterized by a high level of autonomy, based on superior knowledge processing capabilities, sensing capabilities, and natural language interaction with humans.”

— “Machines As Teammates”, Isabella Seeber, et al.

Could AI entities ever be considered “full” team members, equivalent to humans? The answer to this will depend not just on technological advancements but also on societal norms, perspectives, and ethical considerations regarding AI. Fortunately, we are not there yet. There is still time to think,

For now, we must get used to the idea that tight-knit, static teams of humans might become looser, with AI copilots taking over more and more specialist jobs in projects and humans roaming more freely across projects and products where they can make meaningful, human contributions.

The future dynamics of our teams might require a redefinition of collaboration and dependency in the workspace. The trajectory of this transformation is still mostly speculative, but finding good synergy between humans and artificial entities is going to be inevitable.

Learn more about Collaboration Moments, Crew Types, Delegation Levels, Dependency Breakers, Human Drives, Participation Levels, Role Attributes, and Teaming Options.