‘Individual contributor plus’ is in focus as AI economy makes middle management ‘endangered’: Anupam Mittal

For many years, the biggest fear around AI was that it would replace engineers, developers, and other highly skilled technical workers. But according to Anupam Mittal, founder and CEO of People Group and one of the judges on Season 5 of Shark Tank India, this fear may be misplaced.

In a recent post on LinkedIn, Mittal said that the target of true AI disruption is not the programmer, but the middle manager. “AI is not coming for programmers first. It is coming for middle management,” Mittal wrote, describing the shift as a fundamental reset of how companies define value and productivity.

Why are programmers more secure?

Despite the rapid rise in code generation tools and AI assistants, developers remain important to modern businesses. Writing software, building products, debugging systems, and making architectural decisions still require human judgment, creativity, and accountability.

AI may speed up the programming process, but it does not replace the need for people who understand systems from start to finish.

In fact, Mittal points out that the companies he backs are smaller than ever, but deeply technical in nature.

He said he invests in companies that generate annual recurring revenue of Rs 300-1,000 crore and have around 50 employees, supported by suites of AI agents. The common thread is not fewer engineers, but fewer layers of management.

The premium for knowledge has collapsed

Mittal argues that the real danger lies in roles that are built around practical knowledge rather than production.

“In the ancient world, seniority served as a proxy for knowledge of process and coordination of work,” he wrote. “You’re paid to know who to contact and how to get things done. That knowledge premium is now zero.”

AI systems excel at exactly these tasks – directing work, summarizing information, coordinating workflow, and dealing with unstructured data. These were once the core strengths of middle management.

Now, these devices are becoming increasingly automated.

Why is middle management weak?

Mittal was frank in his assessment of roles that lack direct ownership. “A vice president of operations who doesn’t actually manage anything is an endangered species,” he said.

In an environment of high interest rates and tight capital, companies are scrutinizing overhead expenses more aggressively. It is difficult to justify roles that focus on coordination without measurable results when AI can perform similar functions faster and at a lower cost.

“If your job is mostly coordination, without measurable outputs, you incur overheads,” Mittal added. “In a world with rising interest rates, overheads are reduced.”

The rise of the “individual excess shareholder”

Instead of a future dominated by artificial intelligence replacing humans, Mittal sees a future shaped by amplified individuals.

This model is called “Individual Contributor Plus” — professionals who can build, code, create, sell or align teams while using AI to multiply their impact. “These are the people who can do the work of a 20-person team using AI,” he wrote.

This shift rewards practical skills, decision-making, and accountability regarding hierarchy and titles. This also explains why engineers, designers, product builders, and sales professionals who actively use AI are worth more, not less.

Adapt or be automated

Mittal explains that artificial intelligence is not a magic solution and will not solve everything. But it is exceptionally powerful in non-deterministic workflows and messy data – the same areas where human managers have previously added the most value.

His advice is straightforward: learn to build, not just manage. “Ask questions about hypothetical thinking,” he wrote. “Quickly synthesize the signal, separate the signal from the noise, and turn it into a judgment.”