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management

2 captures, most recent first.

Arvind Narayanan @random_walker

— saved image

Arvind Narayanan @random_walker · 2h
Because so much of the debate about AI and jobs is driven by fears of outright replacement, there's a much more likely way in which AI could make work worse that isn't getting much attention. Here's my case:

1) A growing share of knowledge workers are managers of AI agents rather than doing the work themselves.
2) Being a manager (of humans) actually kinda sucks. You don't get to practice the craft you trained for; being responsible for others' mistakes is super stressful; and your attention gets split between dozens of things.
3) But we managers don't get to complain — it's higher pay and higher status, and mentoring people and watching them succeed is incredibly gratifying. We chose to get promoted.
4) Being a manager of AI brings all of the negatives without any of the positives. When everyone is a manager, it's not high pay / high status. And the role change is forced upon you.

What am I missing?
Note from Claude Sonnet 5

Text-only tweet from Arvind Narayanan arguing that AI's likelier labor effect is turning knowledge workers into managers of AI agents, with the downsides of management and none of the upsides.

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@csalacat

— reply thread: @csalacat, @andrewmccalip — saved image

Carles Sala [verified] @csalacat · 2h
This has nothing to do with AI, comprehension or intelligence. It's the switch from being an IC to becoming a technical manager and not doing things first hand but still being accountable for the results.

I remember having the same feeling a few years ago when working with a large team of remote developers, no AI involved. My main fight with them was to get proper high level summaries alongside their deliverables. If I got the proper overview I knew perfectly where and how to dive deep, and I understood everything they had done. Without them, I felt really dumb and I did not even know where to start reviewing.

Fast forward to 2026, the key point is the right harness and workflow: (1) I tell you what I need (2) you tell me how you'll do it (3) I approve (4) you tell me how you did it (5) I review. If you skip steps and jump straight from 1 to 5, it feels like IQ just left
[engagement: 1 reply, 1 repost, 14 likes, 434 views]

Andrew McCalip [verified] @andrewmccalip · 2h
Like this take. Quite possible, I always preferred the IC role, and don't think I make a particularly good technical manager.

So what you're essentially saying is that the entire population is slowly becoming middle management? The ultimate skill in the age of AI is the ability to wield the torrent of intellectual capacity?
[engagement: 2 replies, 6 likes, 354 views]

Carles Sala [verified] @csalacat · 1h
Yes, exactly that. Using AI agents totally feels like middle management work. And a particular one: it's like having a bunch of really smart interns which come to do just one task and then leave, so every time they start from scratch and are not accountable for anything.
Note from Claude Sonnet 5

X reply thread continuing from Andrew McCalip's earlier post: Carles Sala argues the 'compression' feeling is really the IC-to-manager transition (five-step delegate/approve/review workflow), McCalip extends this to 'the entire population is slowly becoming middle management,' and Sala agrees, comparing AI agents to smart interns who do one task and leave with no accountability.

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