by Cdr. Bud Slabbaert
The synthesizer turned a single musician into an orchestra. AI turns a single thinker into a team. The synthesizer did not replace the orchestra. It gave a single musician the power of many by using the synthesizer. Now the workplace has AI. AI does the same for work: it puts the capability of a full team into the hands of one decisive mind. AI can collapse an entire team into the mind of one strategist.
A synthesizer doesn’t replace the artistry of an orchestra. It compresses the capabilities of dozens of instrumentalists into a single interface. One person can trigger strings, brass, percussion, and textures that normally require 60–100 musicians. The musician becomes a conductor, performer, and arranger at once. The synthesizer is a force multiplier: it gives a single creator access to a full sonic palette. This is a shift from labor‑intensive to leverage‑intensive creativity.
AI does something structurally similar, but in the domain of knowledge work. One person can now perform tasks that previously required a team: research, drafting, analysis, design, QA, scheduling, and more. The individual becomes a creative director, orchestrating multiple AI “instruments” rather than doing every task manually. AI transforms work from task execution to task direction. It is compression and amplification.
AI will not cause changes on its own; humans using AI will. However, AI will enable fewer people to make decisions and changes, leaving others on the sidelines.
Institutions should invest in AI literacy for staff and develop internal hybrid talent. Reskill, don’t replace. AI is a threat to outdated structures. Institutions that prepare now will gain efficiency, productivity and competitiveness. Those that delay will face widening skills gaps, rising costs, and vulnerability.
Work models will change. It compresses the labor, expands the leverage, and reshapes the hierarchy. AI can do in 6 minutes what used to take 6 hours. AI gives two people the firepower of a 20-people-team. In‑house teams grow stronger when AI-augmented capability is internalized. AI will automate the paperwork backbone of an institution.
AI is not the future of technology. It is the future of human potential. AI doesn’t replace talent; it empowers it. It does not erase a team. It elevates the individual to operate at team‑scale. The age of human limitation is ending. An era of human leverage has begun.