Aldis Ērglis: Smaller Teams, Greater Responsibility – How AI Transforms Organizations

For the past two decades, tech companies followed a clear division of labor: product managers defined requirements, designers crafted user experiences, developers wrote code, and testers verified the final product. Each knew their role and responsibilities. However, AI development blurs these boundaries, allowing specialists to easily step outside their expertise. This creates role overlap and convergence.

The term 'builder' is increasingly used, describing not a new profession but a person who can combine several skills and move from idea to finished solution much faster. For example, large Fortune 10 financial firms that once took six weeks to go from concept to prototype now do it in under two weeks. The reason: information no longer travels between multiple specialists but stays within one person's workflow, drastically shortening the cycle from idea to first version to real user test.

AI doesn't lower the bar; instead, it amplifies the importance of identifying the right problems and setting priorities. When building solutions becomes faster and cheaper, judgment and strategic thinking become critical. The question shifts from 'can we build this?' to 'should we build this?'

Organizations must change not only technologically but structurally. Companies that use AI merely as a new tool within existing processes will become more efficient, but those that rethink team structures, reduce intermediaries, and increase individual accountability will achieve a breakthrough. Comprehensive AI adoption is key – implementing AI only 50–60% will not deliver the desired benefits, as it won't address collaboration issues.