A reflection on how AI transformation should redesign the coordinating role rather than eliminate it — because the human middle layer often carries social intelligence the organisation has never formally recognised.
Many Thai organisations depend on people whose role is difficult to describe on an organisational chart. They translate the request from senior management into language the team can use. They know which department must be approached before the formal request is submitted. They explain to customers what the procedure actually means. They connect people who would not naturally communicate with one another.
These individuals are sometimes called coordinators, administrators, assistants, relationship managers, or simply the person who "knows how things work." From a process perspective, they may appear to be an extra layer. From a human perspective, they often hold the organisation together.
Artificial intelligence may seem ideally suited to replace this work. An AI assistant can find information, schedule meetings, translate messages, route requests and explain procedures. Automating these activities may reduce delay and free people from repetitive coordination.
But the human middle layer often provides something that is not visible in the task description. It reads relationships. It knows that two teams are using the same word to mean different things. It recognises that a formal rejection needs a personal explanation. It notices when the procedure has been followed correctly but the outcome still feels unreasonable. It understands who can solve the problem — not only who officially owns it.
My research highlighted the importance of leadership, consultation, clear guidelines and culturally compatible community management. Behind these formal elements is a practical reality: people often need someone to translate the system into a relationship they can trust.
If AI removes the middle layer without replacing its social function, the organisation may become technically simpler and humanly harder to navigate. Customers receive an answer but cannot find someone who understands why the answer does not fit. Employees know which process to follow but not how to resolve a conflict between processes. Senior management sees fewer coordination roles and assumes that collaboration has improved, while teams quietly become more isolated.
This does not mean every intermediary role should be preserved. Some exist because information is unnecessarily restricted. Some protect hierarchy rather than value. Some become gatekeepers who make access depend on personal connections. AI can and should reduce these forms of friction.
But before removing the person, leaders should ask: What human problem has this role been solving? Is the person merely transferring information? Or are they interpreting context, preserving trust, and repairing gaps in the formal system?
The best transformation may redesign the role rather than eliminate it. An administrator can become a service navigator supported by AI. A coordinator can focus less on chasing documents and more on resolving cross-functional ambiguity. A relationship manager can use intelligent tools to serve more people without losing the human responsibility to notice exceptions.
Efficiency should remove unnecessary movement. It should not remove the people who make a complex institution feel understandable.
Before replacing the person in the middle, we should understand whether they are delaying the system — or quietly translating it into something human beings can actually use.