Article:

Can (and should) we automate managers?

Written by Ian MacRae Wednesday 21 August 2024

Decentralised autonomous organisations enable the automation of many functions and lead to flat hierarchies. But they still rely on human judgement, communication and collaboration – all skills that good managers bring to the table

The UK Law Commission recently released a comprehensive report on decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs), a way of organising companies using computer code. The oldest DAOs have now been around for a decade, operating across the internet instead of in physical offices.

What is a DAO?

A DAO is a way of organising people and finances where the rules are governed and enforced by computer code. In other words, DAOs are a way of managing an organisation whereby many operational functions are completed automatically by computer programs. Anything that can be described and calculated mathematically can be automated.

Borderless jobs and agile structures: How to build a future-proof organisation

DAOs have been operating for a decade, and according to the World Economic Forum and the Law Commission, the total value controlled by DAOs has increased from USD$380m in 2021 to around $42bn this year.

What role for human managers when many tasks can be automated?

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