Block – From Hierarchy to Intelligence

Quote: "The Rundown: Twitter founder and Block CEO Jack Dorsey just co-authored a post arguing AI can replace middle management, framing Block’s recent 40% workforce cut as the opening move in a massive workplace restructure for the AI era.

The details:

Block cut over 4K employees in February, over 40% of its staff — with Dorsey calling it a bet on AI, not a response to weakness.

Dorsey said managers exist to route information up and down a chain, and AI can now do that via a live “world model” of the business.

He said everyone at Block now falls into one of three roles: builders, problem-owners over specific outcomes, and player-coaches who develop talent.

Block is remote-first, and Dorsey says every decision, design, and plan already exists as a digital record, giving AI the raw material to replace managers.

Why it matters: Dorsey’s thesis is an interesting one, especially as lean, AI-first teams go head-to-head with bloated legacy firms that have layers of approval. Block’s bet is that remote work already generated the data, and AI just needed to catch up to use it — but not everyone is going to trust the tech to completely cut out the managerial layer."