Expertise in AI-augmented teams works differently
Research published in Small Group Research by Ignacio Fernandez Cruz examines how expertise functions in teams that work alongside AI, arguing that existing frameworks which treat expertise as a fixed attribute of individuals are no longer adequate.
The paper proposes a communication-centred view in which expertise is not simply possessed but enacted and negotiated across people, AI tools, and everyday work practices. In AI-mediated contexts, where outputs are increasingly co-produced between humans and systems, the distribution of knowledge and judgement within a team becomes harder to see and harder to hold accountable.
The research identifies three priorities for organisations navigating this shift: understanding how expertise circulates in AI-augmented work, designing safeguards that sustain human accountability, and developing practices that keep expertise legible and durable over time.
The implication for leaders is practical. When expertise is no longer clearly located in individuals, understanding where genuine knowledge and judgement actually sits in a team becomes a leadership responsibility, not an assumption.
In practice: in team meetings, ask people to walk through their reasoning. If AI produced the work, ask what they checked, what they changed, and what they'd have done differently. The answer tells you far more about where expertise actually sits than the output does.