Block: Redefining organizational structures with AI, replacing hierarchical management with "intelligent agents"

Deep Tide TechFlow message, March 31, Block published an article explaining that Block is using artificial intelligence to reshape enterprise organizational structures, replacing the traditional hierarchical management framework with “company agents.”

The article points out that from the Roman legions to modern enterprises, the essence of hierarchical systems is an information routing protocol limited by human management capacity. Block believes that for the first time, AI has gained the ability to undertake hierarchical coordination functions, capable of sustainably maintaining the “world model” of enterprise operations, thereby breaking through organizational constraints that have persisted for over two thousand years.

In terms of specific architecture, Block simplifies the organization into three roles: individual contributors (IC) responsible for building and operating systems at each level; direct responsible individuals (DRI) with authority to allocate resources across teams; and “player-coaches” who balance business execution with talent development, eliminating permanent middle management positions.

At the data layer, Block leverages data from Square and Cash App to control transaction counterpart data, constructing an “economic graph” covering merchants and consumers as the core signal source driving the intelligent layer. The intelligent layer can automatically combine foundational capabilities such as payments, lending, and card issuance, proactively delivering customized financial solutions to users without product managers predefining a roadmap.