#AIResearch
AI is a Team Sport: A Confluence of Diverse Technical and Soft Skills are Crucial for Success
01 May 2023
BY SCOTT M. GRAFFIUS | ScottGraffius.com

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This article covers the significance of well-rounded AI teams, including how both soft and technical skills are critical and fuel success. It’s informed by Graffius' work on AI projects as well as research and coverage from DARPA, Exceptional Agility, IBM, IEEE, Intel, MIT, Microsoft, Nvidia, Samsung, Software Engineering Institute, Stanford University, United States Artificial Intelligence Institute, and others (all listed in the bibliography section of this article).

Introduction
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative force across a growing number of industries, revolutionizing how we live, work, and interact. From autonomous vehicles and virtual assistants to personalized recommendations and medical diagnoses, AI systems have become integral to our daily lives. Behind these cutting-edge, life-changing solutions are AI teams that possess a combination of soft skills—also known as core skills, interpersonal skills, people skills, power skills, transferable skills, or transversal skills—and technical expertise.
This article highlights the synergy between soft skills and technical skills in the world of AI. While technical skills provide the general foundation for AI development, it’s the soft skills that elevate AI projects to new heights. From effective communication and critical thinking to leadership and teamwork, soft skills play a pivotal role in translating technical knowledge and capabilities into real-world applications.
The thesis of this article is that the successful development and application of AI requires a combination of soft skills and technical expertise. Technical competencies alone are not enough. Rather, it’s the combination and integration of soft and technical skills that truly unlocks the power of AI.
Next, this article focuses on the importance of soft skills in the AI landscape, highlighting how they complement and enhance technical abilities. The collaboration between these skill sets drives AI innovation.

Understanding Soft Skills in AI Teams
In the realm of AI, technical expertise often takes center stage. However, soft skills advance the successful outcomes of AI projects, as they facilitate effective communication, foster collaboration, and promote critical thinking. Soft skills are powerful facilitators of success.
Soft skills encompass a range of interpersonal and cognitive abilities that enable teams to work harmoniously, adapt to evolving challenges, and solve complex problems. In the AI landscape, where multidisciplinary teams come together to create innovative solutions, these soft skills are essential.
Effective communication stands at the forefront of soft skills in AI. AI teams must articulate complex technical concepts in a manner that is understandable to diverse stakeholders, including non-technical staff and internal or external customers/users. Clear communication promotes collaboration and ensures alignment of purpose and objectives throughout the AI development lifecycle.
Soft skills such as problem-solving and critical thinking are vital as well. AI teams frequently encounter multifaceted challenges, and it is through these soft skills that teams can identify potential bottlenecks, navigate complexities, and devise innovative solutions. By leveraging critical thinking, AI team members can evaluate different approaches, consider ethical implications, and make informed decisions that shape the development and application of AI systems.
Leadership and teamwork skills are also paramount. AI projects involve team members from diverse backgrounds, including data scientists, engineers, domain experts, designers, and others. Effective leadership enables the coordination of efforts and guides the project towards success. Similarly, teamwork skills foster an environment of trust and respect, promoting synergy among team members and enhancing overall productivity.
Recognizing the importance of soft skills in AI is crucial for fostering a balanced and effective team dynamic. It ensures that AI teams possess the interpersonal and cognitive abilities necessary to bring AI projects to fruition. The integration of soft skills alongside technical expertise sets the stage for a cohesive team capable of tackling complex AI challenges with agility and innovation.
The role of technical skills—including how they intersect with soft skills to create a powerful combination that drives success—are covered next.
The Role of Technical Skills in AI Teams
Technical skills provide the tools and knowledge required to design, build, and implement AI systems. This section explores the role that technical skills play in AI and their specific applications in various stages of AI projects.
Technical skills are essential for AI projects. They enable team members to translate concepts, theories, and algorithms into practical applications. However, technical skills alone are not sufficient for success. The collaborative nature of AI development and the need for a well-rounded AI team—including the synergy between technical skills and soft skills—is covered next.
The Power of Synergy: Soft Skills and Technical Skills in AI Teams

The convergence of technical and soft skills is where true innovation and breakthroughs occur. The successful development and application of AI systems rely not only on technical expertise but also on the harmonious integration of soft skills. Here’s some examples of the power of synergy between these skill sets, including how they work together to drive AI advancement:
The synergy between soft skills and technical skills is the catalyst that drives AI projects towards success. It enables AI teams to go beyond technical expertise and develop AI systems that address real-world problems effectively. By embracing a holistic approach that values both soft skills and technical skills, organizations can foster an environment where AI thrives, resulting in innovative solutions that have a positive impact on society.
Strategies for developing and nurturing soft skills are covered next.
Developing and Advancing Soft Skills in AI Teams
AI teams need soft skills to be successful. Organizations and teams should prioritize the development and advancement of these skills. Here are some strategies to enhance soft skills and foster a well-rounded AI workforce:
By implementing these strategies, organizations can cultivate a workforce that excels not only in technical skills but also in the essential soft skills required for AI success. Nurturing well-rounded AI professionals creates a collaborative and adaptive environment, where AI teams can effectively address complex challenges, drive innovation, and deliver impactful solutions.
The next section wraps up this exploration.


Conclusion
The successful development and application of AI systems rely on the synergy between soft skills and technical skills. While technical expertise forms the foundation, it's the integration of soft skills that elevates AI projects to new heights. Effective communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and leadership are among the key soft skills that enable AI teams to excel.
This article explored the significance of soft skills in AI, emphasizing their role in fostering effective teamwork, problem-solving, and innovation. It also acknowledged the indispensable role of technical skills in AI development, including programming languages, algorithms, data analysis, domain knowledge, and more.
Organizations can create well-rounded AI teams with a holistic set of abilities by embracing the power of synergy between soft skills and technical skills. AI team members with strong soft skills can effectively communicate their ideas, collaborate seamlessly, think critically, and provide leadership that empowers their teams.
To advance soft skills among AI professionals, organizations should invest in training programs, promote interdisciplinary collaboration, encourage continuous learning, and foster mentorship and coaching relationships. These efforts will help AI professionals develop the interpersonal and cognitive abilities necessary to thrive in the dynamic and collaborative AI landscape.
AI is a team sport that thrives on the confluence of soft skills and technical skills. By recognizing and embracing this synergy, organizations can unlock the full potential of AI, delivering innovative solutions that address real-world challenges and have a positive impact on the world.

References/Sources
All of the supplied links were functional when this article was published.

How to Cite This Article
Graffius, Scott M. (2023, May 1). AI is a Team Sport: A Confluence of Diverse Technical and Soft Skills are Crucial for Success. Available at: https://scottgraffius.com/blog/files/successful-ai-teams.html. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.20321.79200.





About Scott M. Graffius

Scott M. Graffius, PMP, SA, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management practitioner, consultant, multi-award-winning author, and international keynote speaker. He is the Founder of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ and subsidiary Exceptional Agility™. He has generated over $1.9 billion of business value in aggregate for Global Fortune 500 businesses and other organizations he has served. Graffius and content from his books, talks, workshops, and more have been featured and used by businesses, professional associations, governments, and universities. Examples include Microsoft, Oracle, Broadcom, Cisco, Gartner, Project Management Institute, IEEE, Qantas, National Academy of Sciences, United States Department of Energy, New Zealand Ministry of Education, Yale University, Tufts University, and others. He has delighted audiences with dynamic and engaging talks and workshops on agile, project management, and technology leadership at 85 conferences and other events across 25 countries.
His full bio is available here.
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About Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions

Shifting customer needs are common in today's marketplace. Businesses must be adaptive and responsive to change while delivering an exceptional customer experience to be competitive.
There are a variety of frameworks supporting the development of products and services, and most approaches fall into one of two broad categories: traditional or agile. Traditional practices such as waterfall engage sequential development, while agile involves iterative and incremental deliverables. Organizations are increasingly embracing agile to manage projects, and best meet their business needs of rapid response to change, fast delivery speed, and more.
With clear and easy to follow instructions, the multi award-winning Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions book by Scott M. Graffius (Chris Hare and Colin Giffen, Technical Editors) helps the reader:
Hailed by Literary Titan as “the book highlights the versatility of Scrum beautifully.”
Winner of 17 first place awards.
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle in the United States and around the world. Some links by country follow.

About Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change

Thriving in today's marketplace frequently depends on making a transformation to become more agile. Those successful in the transition enjoy faster delivery speed and ROI, higher satisfaction, continuous improvement, and additional benefits.
Based on actual events, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change provides a quick (60-90 minute) read about a successful agile transformation at a multinational entertainment and media company, told from the author's perspective as an agile coach.
The award-winning book by Scott M. Graffius is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle in the United States and around the world. Some links by country follow.

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Select here to download this article as a PDF.
This article covers the significance of well-rounded AI teams, including how both soft and technical skills are critical and fuel success. It’s informed by Graffius' work on AI projects as well as research and coverage from DARPA, Exceptional Agility, IBM, IEEE, Intel, MIT, Microsoft, Nvidia, Samsung, Software Engineering Institute, Stanford University, United States Artificial Intelligence Institute, and others (all listed in the bibliography section of this article).

Introduction
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative force across a growing number of industries, revolutionizing how we live, work, and interact. From autonomous vehicles and virtual assistants to personalized recommendations and medical diagnoses, AI systems have become integral to our daily lives. Behind these cutting-edge, life-changing solutions are AI teams that possess a combination of soft skills—also known as core skills, interpersonal skills, people skills, power skills, transferable skills, or transversal skills—and technical expertise.
This article highlights the synergy between soft skills and technical skills in the world of AI. While technical skills provide the general foundation for AI development, it’s the soft skills that elevate AI projects to new heights. From effective communication and critical thinking to leadership and teamwork, soft skills play a pivotal role in translating technical knowledge and capabilities into real-world applications.
The thesis of this article is that the successful development and application of AI requires a combination of soft skills and technical expertise. Technical competencies alone are not enough. Rather, it’s the combination and integration of soft and technical skills that truly unlocks the power of AI.
Next, this article focuses on the importance of soft skills in the AI landscape, highlighting how they complement and enhance technical abilities. The collaboration between these skill sets drives AI innovation.

Understanding Soft Skills in AI Teams
In the realm of AI, technical expertise often takes center stage. However, soft skills advance the successful outcomes of AI projects, as they facilitate effective communication, foster collaboration, and promote critical thinking. Soft skills are powerful facilitators of success.
Soft skills encompass a range of interpersonal and cognitive abilities that enable teams to work harmoniously, adapt to evolving challenges, and solve complex problems. In the AI landscape, where multidisciplinary teams come together to create innovative solutions, these soft skills are essential.
Effective communication stands at the forefront of soft skills in AI. AI teams must articulate complex technical concepts in a manner that is understandable to diverse stakeholders, including non-technical staff and internal or external customers/users. Clear communication promotes collaboration and ensures alignment of purpose and objectives throughout the AI development lifecycle.
Soft skills such as problem-solving and critical thinking are vital as well. AI teams frequently encounter multifaceted challenges, and it is through these soft skills that teams can identify potential bottlenecks, navigate complexities, and devise innovative solutions. By leveraging critical thinking, AI team members can evaluate different approaches, consider ethical implications, and make informed decisions that shape the development and application of AI systems.
Leadership and teamwork skills are also paramount. AI projects involve team members from diverse backgrounds, including data scientists, engineers, domain experts, designers, and others. Effective leadership enables the coordination of efforts and guides the project towards success. Similarly, teamwork skills foster an environment of trust and respect, promoting synergy among team members and enhancing overall productivity.
Recognizing the importance of soft skills in AI is crucial for fostering a balanced and effective team dynamic. It ensures that AI teams possess the interpersonal and cognitive abilities necessary to bring AI projects to fruition. The integration of soft skills alongside technical expertise sets the stage for a cohesive team capable of tackling complex AI challenges with agility and innovation.
The role of technical skills—including how they intersect with soft skills to create a powerful combination that drives success—are covered next.
The Role of Technical Skills in AI Teams
Technical skills provide the tools and knowledge required to design, build, and implement AI systems. This section explores the role that technical skills play in AI and their specific applications in various stages of AI projects.
- Programming Languages and Algorithms: Proficiency in programming languages such as Python, Java, or R is essential. These languages enable team members to write efficient code, manipulate and analyze data, and implement machine learning algorithms. Understanding algorithms, from classic ones like linear regression to cutting-edge deep learning models, empowers AI professionals to leverage mathematical principles and statistical techniques to train and optimize AI systems.
- Data Analysis and Management: AI relies on data, making data analysis and management skills crucial. AI team members need to be adept at collecting, cleaning, and preprocessing data, ensuring its quality and relevance. They must possess the knowledge of statistical methods, data visualization techniques, and data engineering practices to extract insights from complex datasets and prepare them for AI model training.
- Machine Learning and Neural Networks: Technical skills in machine learning are at the heart of AI systems. Understanding machine learning algorithms, such as decision trees, support vector machines, or convolutional neural networks, enables AI team members to create models that can learn from data and make intelligent predictions or decisions. Expertise in neural networks and deep learning architectures equips professionals with the ability to develop complex models capable of handling tasks like image recognition, natural language processing, and reinforcement learning.
- AI Frameworks and Tools: Proficiency in AI frameworks and tools (such as TensorFlow, Keras, PyTorch, Caffe, Scikit-learn, and others) are essential for building AI systems efficiently. These frameworks provide pre-built modules, libraries, and APIs that simplify the implementation of AI algorithms and models. Technical skills in utilizing these tools effectively enable AI team members to accelerate the development process, streamline model training, and optimize system performance.
- Domain Knowledge and Application-Specific Skills: Technical skills also encompass domain knowledge and application-specific expertise. Understanding the nuances of the industry or problem domain in which AI is being applied allows professionals to tailor AI solutions to meet specific requirements. For example, healthcare-focused AI projects may require knowledge of medical terminologies and regulatory considerations, while AI solutions for financial services may demand expertise in risk assessment and fraud detection.
Technical skills are essential for AI projects. They enable team members to translate concepts, theories, and algorithms into practical applications. However, technical skills alone are not sufficient for success. The collaborative nature of AI development and the need for a well-rounded AI team—including the synergy between technical skills and soft skills—is covered next.
The Power of Synergy: Soft Skills and Technical Skills in AI Teams

The convergence of technical and soft skills is where true innovation and breakthroughs occur. The successful development and application of AI systems rely not only on technical expertise but also on the harmonious integration of soft skills. Here’s some examples of the power of synergy between these skill sets, including how they work together to drive AI advancement:
- Effective Communication and Technical Expertise: Communication bridges the gap between AI professionals and others who may not possess technical backgrounds. AI experts with strong communication skills can articulate complex technical concepts in plain English, ensuring that everyone involved understands the goals, challenges, and progress of the project. By effectively conveying ideas, AI professionals foster collaboration, gather valuable insights, and create a shared vision for AI initiatives.
- Collaboration and Problem-Solving: Collaboration is at the core of AI development, and soft skills such as teamwork, empathy, and active listening facilitate effective collaboration among diverse team members. AI teams with strong collaboration skills can effectively pool their technical expertise, brainstorm ideas, and solve complex problems together. By leveraging their collective intelligence and diverse perspectives, AI teams can overcome challenges, refine AI models, and optimize the performance of AI solutions.
- Critical Thinking and Technical Innovation: Critical thinking, coupled with technical expertise, leads to innovative AI solutions. AI professionals with strong critical thinking skills can evaluate different approaches, challenge assumptions, and identify potential shortcomings or biases in AI models. They can think creatively to address issues such as data biases or fairness concerns, ensuring that AI systems are developed responsibly and ethically.
- Leadership and Team Empowerment: Effective leadership in AI projects involves establishing and maintaining a collaborative and inclusive environment, empowering team members, and harnessing their full potential. AI leaders with exceptional interpersonal abilities can inspire and motivate their team, foster a culture of continuous learning, and provide guidance in navigating complex technical challenges. They encourage interdisciplinary collaboration, respect diverse perspectives, and drive the team towards achieving AI objectives.
The synergy between soft skills and technical skills is the catalyst that drives AI projects towards success. It enables AI teams to go beyond technical expertise and develop AI systems that address real-world problems effectively. By embracing a holistic approach that values both soft skills and technical skills, organizations can foster an environment where AI thrives, resulting in innovative solutions that have a positive impact on society.
Strategies for developing and nurturing soft skills are covered next.
Developing and Advancing Soft Skills in AI Teams
AI teams need soft skills to be successful. Organizations and teams should prioritize the development and advancement of these skills. Here are some strategies to enhance soft skills and foster a well-rounded AI workforce:
- Training Programs and Workshops: Implement specialized training programs and workshops focused on enhancing soft skills. Offer courses in effective communication, leadership (including how to navigate the phases of team development), problem-solving, critical thinking, and collaboration. These programs can provide AI professionals with the necessary tools and techniques to effectively apply soft skills in their work.
- Interdisciplinary Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing: Encourage interdisciplinary collaboration by creating opportunities for AI team members to work alongside experts from diverse fields such as psychology, design, ethics, and business. This collaboration allows for cross-pollination of ideas, encourages different perspectives, and broadens the skill set of AI teams. Foster a culture of knowledge sharing, where professionals can learn from each other and leverage their collective experiences and expertise.
- Real-World Project Engagement: Provide AI team members with opportunities to work on (other) real-world projects, allowing them to apply their soft skills in practical scenarios. Engaging in projects that involve interaction with clients, end-users, and stakeholders helps AI team members develop effective communication, problem-solving, and teamwork skills.
- Continuous Learning and Professional Development: Encourage AI team members to engage in continuous learning and professional development activities. This can include attending conferences, participating in webinars, reading industry publications, and pursuing certifications in relevant areas. Promote a growth mindset among AI team members, emphasizing the importance of lifelong learning and staying current with the latest developments in both technical and soft skills domains.
- Mentorship and Coaching: Establish mentorship and coaching programs where experienced AI professionals guide and support individuals with less experience. Mentors can provide valuable insights, share their experiences, and offer guidance on developing skills. Regular feedback and coaching sessions help AI professionals identify areas for improvement and provide targeted development opportunities.
By implementing these strategies, organizations can cultivate a workforce that excels not only in technical skills but also in the essential soft skills required for AI success. Nurturing well-rounded AI professionals creates a collaborative and adaptive environment, where AI teams can effectively address complex challenges, drive innovation, and deliver impactful solutions.
The next section wraps up this exploration.


Conclusion
The successful development and application of AI systems rely on the synergy between soft skills and technical skills. While technical expertise forms the foundation, it's the integration of soft skills that elevates AI projects to new heights. Effective communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and leadership are among the key soft skills that enable AI teams to excel.
This article explored the significance of soft skills in AI, emphasizing their role in fostering effective teamwork, problem-solving, and innovation. It also acknowledged the indispensable role of technical skills in AI development, including programming languages, algorithms, data analysis, domain knowledge, and more.
Organizations can create well-rounded AI teams with a holistic set of abilities by embracing the power of synergy between soft skills and technical skills. AI team members with strong soft skills can effectively communicate their ideas, collaborate seamlessly, think critically, and provide leadership that empowers their teams.
To advance soft skills among AI professionals, organizations should invest in training programs, promote interdisciplinary collaboration, encourage continuous learning, and foster mentorship and coaching relationships. These efforts will help AI professionals develop the interpersonal and cognitive abilities necessary to thrive in the dynamic and collaborative AI landscape.
AI is a team sport that thrives on the confluence of soft skills and technical skills. By recognizing and embracing this synergy, organizations can unlock the full potential of AI, delivering innovative solutions that address real-world challenges and have a positive impact on the world.

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All of the supplied links were functional when this article was published.
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- O’Dea, Blathnaid (2023, February 17). These are the Top Skills AI and Analytics Professionals Need. Silicon Republic. Available at: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/advice/top-skills-ai-data-analytics-professionals-need.
- Olmstead, Brett (2023, February 15). Driving AI Success by Engaging a Cross-Functional Team. Available at: https://www.datarobot.com/blog/driving-ai-success-by-engaging-a-cross-functional-team/.
- Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (n.d.). OECD Programme on AI in Work, Innovation, Productivity and Skills. Available at: https://oecd.ai/en/work-innovation-productivity-skills/key-themes/skills.
- Oswald, Andrew. J., Proto, Eugenio, & Sgroi, Daniel (2015). Happiness and Productivity. Journal of Labor Economics, 33 (4): 789-822.
- Project Management Institute (2020, March 10). Tomorrow's Teams Today: The Future of Teaming: Creative, Collaborative and Agile. Pulse of the Profession. Available at: https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/pulse-indepth-tomorrows-teams-today-11941.
- PwC (2017). Sizing the Prize: What’s the Real Value of AI for Your Business and How Can You Capitalise? PwC’s Global Artificial Intelligence Study: Exploiting the AI Revolution. Available at: https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/issues/data-and-analytics/publications/artificial-intelligence-study.html.
- Rayside, Derek (Ed.) (2023, March 29). Software Engineering Capstone Design Project Handbook (2023 Edition). Waterloo, Ontario, Canada: University of Waterloo.
- Romsey, Joseph (2020, November 30). 5 Tips to Help Workers Upskill and Adapt to Artificial Intelligence. Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Available at: https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/technology/pages/how-hr-can-help-workers-upskill-and-adapt-to-artificial-intelligence-5-tips.aspx.
- Samsung (2017, May 4). Artificial Intelligence and the Role of Workers. Available at: https://insights.samsung.com/2017/05/04/artificial-intelligence-and-the-role-of-workers/.
- Stanford University (2019, September). Gathering Strength, Gathering Storms. Stanford, CA: Stanford University.
- Tredinnick, Luke (2017). Artificial Intelligence and Professional Roles. Business Information Review, 34 (1): 37–41.
- Ungerleider, Neal (2023, January 1). AI and Jobs: The Human Angle. Available at: https://www.sap.com/denmark/insights/viewpoints/ai-jobs-human-angle.html.
- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) (2021, July 2). AI Ethics: Another Step Closer to the Adoption of UNESCO’s Recommendation. Available at: https://en.unesco.org/news/ai-ethics-another-step-closer-adoption-unescos-recommendation-0.
- United States Artificial Intelligence Institute (USAII) (2022). Factsheet: Fast-Track Your Artificial Intelligence Career in 2023. Stamford, CT: USAII.
- United States Congress Committee on Science, Space, and Technology (2019, September 24). Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work. Report for the One Hundred Sixteenth Congress. Available at: https://www.congress.gov/116/chrg/CHRG-116hhrg37740/CHRG-116hhrg37740.pdf.
- University of Leeds (2023, March 2). The Top 5 AI Skills You Need to Land a Job in Artificial Intelligence. Available at: https://pg-online.leeds.ac.uk/blogs/5-skills-needed-for-ai.
- World Manufacturing Foundation (2020). 2020 World Manufacturing Report: Manufacturing in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. Available at: https://worldmanufacturing.org/wp-content/uploads/WorldManufacturingForum2020_Report.pdf.

How to Cite This Article
Graffius, Scott M. (2023, May 1). AI is a Team Sport: A Confluence of Diverse Technical and Soft Skills are Crucial for Success. Available at: https://scottgraffius.com/blog/files/successful-ai-teams.html. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.20321.79200.



About Scott M. Graffius

Scott M. Graffius, PMP, SA, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management practitioner, consultant, multi-award-winning author, and international keynote speaker. He is the Founder of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ and subsidiary Exceptional Agility™. He has generated over $1.9 billion of business value in aggregate for Global Fortune 500 businesses and other organizations he has served. Graffius and content from his books, talks, workshops, and more have been featured and used by businesses, professional associations, governments, and universities. Examples include Microsoft, Oracle, Broadcom, Cisco, Gartner, Project Management Institute, IEEE, Qantas, National Academy of Sciences, United States Department of Energy, New Zealand Ministry of Education, Yale University, Tufts University, and others. He has delighted audiences with dynamic and engaging talks and workshops on agile, project management, and technology leadership at 85 conferences and other events across 25 countries.
His full bio is available here.
Connect with Scott on:


About Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions

Shifting customer needs are common in today's marketplace. Businesses must be adaptive and responsive to change while delivering an exceptional customer experience to be competitive.
There are a variety of frameworks supporting the development of products and services, and most approaches fall into one of two broad categories: traditional or agile. Traditional practices such as waterfall engage sequential development, while agile involves iterative and incremental deliverables. Organizations are increasingly embracing agile to manage projects, and best meet their business needs of rapid response to change, fast delivery speed, and more.
With clear and easy to follow instructions, the multi award-winning Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions book by Scott M. Graffius (Chris Hare and Colin Giffen, Technical Editors) helps the reader:
- Implement and use the most popular agile framework―Scrum;
- Deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation to change, fast time-to-market, and continuous improvement; and
- Support innovation and drive competitive advantage.
Hailed by Literary Titan as “the book highlights the versatility of Scrum beautifully.”
Winner of 17 first place awards.
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle in the United States and around the world. Some links by country follow.
- 🇧🇷 Brazil
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- 🇨🇿 Czech Republic
- 🇩🇰 Denmark
- 🇫🇮 Finland
- 🇫🇷 France
- 🇩🇪 Germany
- 🇬🇷 Greece
- 🇭🇺 Hungary
- 🇮🇳 India
- 🇮🇪 Ireland
- 🇮🇱 Israel
- 🇮🇹 Italy
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- 🇱🇺 Luxembourg
- 🇲🇽 Mexico
- 🇳🇱 Netherlands
- 🇳🇿 New Zealand
- 🇳🇴 Norway
- 🇪🇸 Spain
- 🇸🇪 Sweden
- 🇨🇭 Switzerland
- 🇦🇪 UAE
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇺🇸 United States

About Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change

Thriving in today's marketplace frequently depends on making a transformation to become more agile. Those successful in the transition enjoy faster delivery speed and ROI, higher satisfaction, continuous improvement, and additional benefits.
Based on actual events, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change provides a quick (60-90 minute) read about a successful agile transformation at a multinational entertainment and media company, told from the author's perspective as an agile coach.
The award-winning book by Scott M. Graffius is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle in the United States and around the world. Some links by country follow.
- 🇦🇺 Australia
- 🇦🇹 Austria
- 🇧🇷 Brazil
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- 🇨🇿 Czech Republic
- 🇩🇰 Denmark
- 🇫🇮 Finland
- 🇫🇷 France
- 🇩🇪 Germany
- 🇬🇷 Greece
- 🇮🇳 India
- 🇮🇪 Ireland
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- 🇱🇺 Luxembourg
- 🇲🇽 Mexico
- 🇳🇱 Netherlands
- 🇳🇿 New Zealand
- 🇪🇸 Spain
- 🇸🇪 Sweden
- 🇨🇭 Switzerland
- 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇺🇸 United States

The short URL for this article is: https://bit.ly/ai-teams
© Copyright 2023 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.

Top 5 Roles on AI Teams
09 October 2023
BY SCOTT M. GRAFFIUS | ScottGraffius.com

Select here to download a PDF of this article.

Effective Artificial Intelligence (AI) teams leverage critical hard skills and soft skills to develop and deliver successful AI products, including innovative solutions that address real-world challenges and have a positive impact on the world. (If you’d like to learn about the critical skills leveraged by effective AI teams, select here for our popular article on the topic.) This article focuses on the roles on AI teams.

The composition (size and roles) of AI teams varies by organization based on the respective company’s needs, the nature of the AI endeavor including complexity, and other factors. However, AI teams commonly include (at least these) five positions. Here are the five along with brief descriptions, listed in alphabetical order:
The above five roles collectively cover key aspects of AI development — from research and model creation to data management and software integration. Depending on requirements and characteristics (such as degree of complexity), additional positions may be needed.
An expanded list of 20 roles common to AI teams follow. Here are the aforementioned 5 and 15 additional positions, listed in alphabetical order:
The composition (size and roles) of AI teams varies, based on the complexity of the AI project and other factors. On smaller teams, individuals often ‘wear multiple hats.’ On larger teams, individuals typically have more specialized roles.

This article covered the roles common to AI teams. Listings are not exhaustive of all potential positions. Additionally, as the field of AI continues to evolve and advance, new roles may materialize to address emerging challenges and opportunities.
(If you’d like to learn about the critical skills leveraged by successful AI teams, select here for our popular article on the topic.)

References/Sources
All of the supplied links were functional when this article was published.

How to Cite This Article
Graffius, Scott M. (2023, October 9). Top 5 Roles on AI Teams. Available at: https://scottgraffius.com/blog/files/ai-team-roles.html. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.34857.57449.





About Scott M. Graffius

Scott M. Graffius, PMP, SA, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management practitioner, consultant, multi-award-winning author, and international keynote speaker. He is the Founder of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ and subsidiary Exceptional Agility™. He has generated over $1.9 billion of business value in aggregate for Global Fortune 500 businesses and other organizations he has served. Graffius and content from his books, talks, workshops, and more have been featured and used by businesses, professional associations, governments, and universities. Examples include Microsoft, Oracle, Broadcom, Cisco, Gartner, Project Management Institute, IEEE, Qantas, National Academy of Sciences, United States Department of Energy, New Zealand Ministry of Education, Yale University, Tufts University, and others. He has delighted audiences with dynamic and engaging talks and workshops on agile, project management, and technology (including AI, GameDev, and more) leadership at 87 conferences and other events across 25 countries.
His full bio is available here.
Connect with Scott on:


About Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions

Shifting customer needs are common in today's marketplace. Businesses must be adaptive and responsive to change while delivering an exceptional customer experience to be competitive.
There are a variety of frameworks supporting the development of products and services, and most approaches fall into one of two broad categories: traditional or agile. Traditional practices such as waterfall engage sequential development, while agile involves iterative and incremental deliverables. Organizations are increasingly embracing agile to manage projects, and best meet their business needs of rapid response to change, fast delivery speed, and more.
With clear and easy to follow instructions, the multi award-winning Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions book by Scott M. Graffius (Chris Hare and Colin Giffen, Technical Editors) helps the reader:
Hailed by Literary Titan as “the book highlights the versatility of Scrum beautifully.”
Winner of 17 first place awards.
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle in the United States and around the world. Some links by country follow.

About Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change

Thriving in today's marketplace frequently depends on making a transformation to become more agile. Those successful in the transition enjoy faster delivery speed and ROI, higher satisfaction, continuous improvement, and additional benefits.
Based on actual events, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change provides a quick (60-90 minute) read about a successful agile transformation at a multinational entertainment and media company, told from the author's perspective as an agile coach.
The award-winning book by Scott M. Graffius is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle in the United States and around the world. Some links by country follow.

The short link for this article is: https://bit.ly/ai-roles.
© Copyright 2023 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.


Select here to download a PDF of this article.

Effective Artificial Intelligence (AI) teams leverage critical hard skills and soft skills to develop and deliver successful AI products, including innovative solutions that address real-world challenges and have a positive impact on the world. (If you’d like to learn about the critical skills leveraged by effective AI teams, select here for our popular article on the topic.) This article focuses on the roles on AI teams.

The composition (size and roles) of AI teams varies by organization based on the respective company’s needs, the nature of the AI endeavor including complexity, and other factors. However, AI teams commonly include (at least these) five positions. Here are the five along with brief descriptions, listed in alphabetical order:
- AI Research Scientist: AI research scientists are responsible for conducting research and developing cutting-edge AI algorithms and models.
- AI Software Engineer: AI software engineers are responsible for integrating AI components into software applications. They bridge the gap between AI research and practical implementation, making AI systems usable by end-users.
- Data Engineer: Data engineers are responsible for building and managing the data pipelines that feed AI models. They ensure that data is collected, cleaned, and prepared in a format suitable for analysis and model training.
- Data Scientist: Data scientists are experts in data analysis and interpretation. They preprocess, analyze, and extract valuable insights from data, which is vital for training and improving AI models.
- Machine Learning Engineer: Machine learning engineers focus on implementing and deploying machine learning models into practical applications. They work to ensure that AI models are integrated into software systems effectively.
The above five roles collectively cover key aspects of AI development — from research and model creation to data management and software integration. Depending on requirements and characteristics (such as degree of complexity), additional positions may be needed.
An expanded list of 20 roles common to AI teams follow. Here are the aforementioned 5 and 15 additional positions, listed in alphabetical order:
- AI DevOps Engineer: Combines development and operations skills to streamline AI model deployment. They automate tasks.
- AI Ethicist: Ensures that AI systems are developed and used responsibly and ethically.
- AI Infrastructure Engineer: Builds and maintains the infrastructure required for AI model deployment and scalability.
- AI Legal and Compliance Specialist: Ensures AI projects comply with legal and regulatory requirements.
- AI Marketing Specialist: Promotes and markets AI products and solutions to customers and stakeholders.
- AI Operations (AIOps) Specialist: Focuses on the operational aspects of AI, including monitoring, maintenance, and troubleshooting.
- AI Product Manager: Oversees the development and deployment of AI products.
- AI Project Manager: Leverages general and specialized hard skills and soft skills, and applies their understanding of many aspects of artificial intelligence (such as machine learning, deep learning, automation, robotics, and natural language processing) to manage the planning, execution, and delivery of AI projects. Note: Titles vary by organization; the position may be called an AI Project Manager, AI Program Manager, Agile Project Manager, Technical Project Manager, Scrum Master, or another related designation.
- AI QA Engineer: Ensures the quality and reliability of AI models through testing and validation.
- AI Research Scientist: Conducts research to develop new AI algorithms and models.
- AI Software Engineer: Builds and maintains software systems that incorporate AI components.
- AI Trainer/Annotator: Prepares and labels data for training AI models, especially for supervised learning.
- AI UX/UI Designer: Designs user interfaces and experiences for AI-powered applications.
- Computer Vision Engineer: Specializes in developing AI models for image and video analysis.
- Data Analyst: Examines data to uncover trends and insights that can guide AI projects.
- Data Engineer: Manages data pipelines and prepares data for analysis and model training.
- Data Scientist: Analyzes and interprets data to extract insights and inform AI models.
- Deep Learning Engineer: Focuses on deep neural networks and architectures.
- Machine Learning Engineer: Focuses on implementing and deploying machine learning models.
- Natural Language Processing (NLP) Engineer: Specializes in working with text and language-related AI tasks.
The composition (size and roles) of AI teams varies, based on the complexity of the AI project and other factors. On smaller teams, individuals often ‘wear multiple hats.’ On larger teams, individuals typically have more specialized roles.

This article covered the roles common to AI teams. Listings are not exhaustive of all potential positions. Additionally, as the field of AI continues to evolve and advance, new roles may materialize to address emerging challenges and opportunities.
(If you’d like to learn about the critical skills leveraged by successful AI teams, select here for our popular article on the topic.)

References/Sources
All of the supplied links were functional when this article was published.
- Apple (n.d.). Careers at Apple: Machine Learning and AI. Available at: https://www.apple.com/careers/us/machine-learning-and-ai.html.
- C3.ai (n.d.). Best Practices in Prototyping: Cross-Functional Teams. Available at: https://c3.ai/introduction-what-is-machine-learning/cross-functional-teams/.
- Deloitte AI Institute (2021). Building Successful AI Teams. Available at: https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/deloitte-analytics/us-ai-institute-building-successful-AI-teams.pdf.
- Gartner (2020, December 15). Staff AI Teams with Various Roles and Skills for Success. Available at: https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/how-to-staff-your-ai-team.
- General Services Administration (GSA) Centers of Excellence (CoE) (n.d.). AI Guide for Government. Available at: https://coe.gsa.gov/coe/ai-guide-for-government/understanding-ai-job-roles-career-path/.
- Google Quantum AI (n.d.). Careers. Available at: https://quantumai.google/team/careers.
- Graffius, Scott M. (2023, May 1). AI is a Team Sport: A Confluence of Diverse Technical and Soft Skills are Crucial for Success. Available at: https://www.scottgraffius.com/blog/files/successful-ai-teams.html.
- Graffius, Scott M. (2023). What Successful AI Teams Have in Common [Video]. Graffius’ talk at the 2023 Conf42 Quantum Computer Conference. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2qRKFbSKYE.
- IBM (n.d.). Assemble the Team to Support a Data-Driven Project. Available at: https://www.ibm.com/garage/method/practices/culture/assemble-team-for-data-driven-project/.
- Intel (n.d.). Artificial Intelligence Teams: Careers. Available at: https://jobs.intel.com/en/search-jobs/artificial+intelligence/599/1.
- Intuit (2020, December 8). How to avoid conflicts and delays in the AI development process (Part I). Available at: https://blogs.intuit.com/2020/12/08/how-to-avoid-conflicts-and-delays-in-the-ai-development-process-part-i/.

How to Cite This Article
Graffius, Scott M. (2023, October 9). Top 5 Roles on AI Teams. Available at: https://scottgraffius.com/blog/files/ai-team-roles.html. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.34857.57449.



About Scott M. Graffius

Scott M. Graffius, PMP, SA, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management practitioner, consultant, multi-award-winning author, and international keynote speaker. He is the Founder of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ and subsidiary Exceptional Agility™. He has generated over $1.9 billion of business value in aggregate for Global Fortune 500 businesses and other organizations he has served. Graffius and content from his books, talks, workshops, and more have been featured and used by businesses, professional associations, governments, and universities. Examples include Microsoft, Oracle, Broadcom, Cisco, Gartner, Project Management Institute, IEEE, Qantas, National Academy of Sciences, United States Department of Energy, New Zealand Ministry of Education, Yale University, Tufts University, and others. He has delighted audiences with dynamic and engaging talks and workshops on agile, project management, and technology (including AI, GameDev, and more) leadership at 87 conferences and other events across 25 countries.
His full bio is available here.
Connect with Scott on:


About Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions

Shifting customer needs are common in today's marketplace. Businesses must be adaptive and responsive to change while delivering an exceptional customer experience to be competitive.
There are a variety of frameworks supporting the development of products and services, and most approaches fall into one of two broad categories: traditional or agile. Traditional practices such as waterfall engage sequential development, while agile involves iterative and incremental deliverables. Organizations are increasingly embracing agile to manage projects, and best meet their business needs of rapid response to change, fast delivery speed, and more.
With clear and easy to follow instructions, the multi award-winning Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions book by Scott M. Graffius (Chris Hare and Colin Giffen, Technical Editors) helps the reader:
- Implement and use the most popular agile framework―Scrum;
- Deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation to change, fast time-to-market, and continuous improvement; and
- Support innovation and drive competitive advantage.
Hailed by Literary Titan as “the book highlights the versatility of Scrum beautifully.”
Winner of 17 first place awards.
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle in the United States and around the world. Some links by country follow.
- 🇧🇷 Brazil
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- 🇨🇿 Czech Republic
- 🇩🇰 Denmark
- 🇫🇮 Finland
- 🇫🇷 France
- 🇩🇪 Germany
- 🇬🇷 Greece
- 🇭🇺 Hungary
- 🇮🇳 India
- 🇮🇪 Ireland
- 🇮🇱 Israel
- 🇮🇹 Italy
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- 🇱🇺 Luxembourg
- 🇲🇽 Mexico
- 🇳🇱 Netherlands
- 🇳🇿 New Zealand
- 🇳🇴 Norway
- 🇪🇸 Spain
- 🇸🇪 Sweden
- 🇨🇭 Switzerland
- 🇦🇪 UAE
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇺🇸 United States

About Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change

Thriving in today's marketplace frequently depends on making a transformation to become more agile. Those successful in the transition enjoy faster delivery speed and ROI, higher satisfaction, continuous improvement, and additional benefits.
Based on actual events, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change provides a quick (60-90 minute) read about a successful agile transformation at a multinational entertainment and media company, told from the author's perspective as an agile coach.
The award-winning book by Scott M. Graffius is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle in the United States and around the world. Some links by country follow.
- 🇦🇺 Australia
- 🇦🇹 Austria
- 🇧🇷 Brazil
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- 🇨🇿 Czech Republic
- 🇩🇰 Denmark
- 🇫🇮 Finland
- 🇫🇷 France
- 🇩🇪 Germany
- 🇬🇷 Greece
- 🇮🇳 India
- 🇮🇪 Ireland
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- 🇱🇺 Luxembourg
- 🇲🇽 Mexico
- 🇳🇱 Netherlands
- 🇳🇿 New Zealand
- 🇪🇸 Spain
- 🇸🇪 Sweden
- 🇨🇭 Switzerland
- 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇺🇸 United States

The short link for this article is: https://bit.ly/ai-roles.
© Copyright 2023 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.

Which Performs Best: Humans, AI, or Human-AI Collaboration? We Analyzed the Data
01 October 2026
BY SCOTT M. GRAFFIUS | ScottGraffius.com

Recommended Citation
Graffius, S. M. (2026, October 1). Which Performs Best: Humans, AI, or Human-AI Collaboration? We Analyzed the Data. ScottGraffius.com. https://scottgraffius.com/blog/files/which-performs-best-humans-ai-or-human-ai-collab.html
About This Article
Source information and links for materials cited are provided in the References section.
Which performs best: humans, AI, or human-AI collaborations?
Prior studies have reached different conclusions about whether human-AI combinations outperform humans or AI alone. To answer this question, we conducted a deep-dive analysis of empirical evidence across a broad range of studies to determine what the data show. The findings might surprise you.
Research question
This article examines the central question: Do human-AI collaborations outperform humans and AI working independently? A bonus question is: Under what conditions does each configuration generally perform best?
"Human-AI collaboration" is used broadly in this analysis. It includes human-AI teams, human-AI decision-making, hybrid workflows, human-AI collectives, and other arrangements in which humans and AI jointly collaborate on an outcome.
The term collaborative advantage is used more narrowly. A human-AI system demonstrates a collaborative advantage when its performance exceeds both human-only and AI-only performance on the relevant task.
Evidence base
This analysis draws on 42 unique published studies.
All 42 sources were published within the past three years (2024-2026): 4 in 2024, 18 in 2025, and 20 in 2026. This reflects the fast pace of AI development and ensures the evidence speaks to current systems.
The studies cover a range of domains, including medicine and healthcare, education, creativity, decision-making, risk assessment, human factors, teamwork, intelligence analysis, and other areas.
The studies also differ considerably in design. Some directly compare human-only, AI-only, and human-AI configurations. Others compare two configurations. Some examine human-AI collaboration more indirectly by studying factors such as trust, reliance, explanation, workflow, role allocation, or decision processes.
That heterogeneity is less of a limitation for the present objective, which is to characterize the broader empirical landscape and identify recurring patterns.
Classification of findings
Each study was reviewed and classified according to the strongest conclusion supported by its findings.
The outcome categories were:
The classifications identify the principal result relevant to the core question. Do not interpret this as meaning every study was a direct three-way comparison.
The inconclusive category was reserved for studies in which the authors reported no meaningful difference.
Each study in the table below is assigned one principal designation. The four summary rows at the bottom of the table are simple tallies of those designations: the first pair (count and percentage) covers all 42 studies, and the second pair excludes the five inconclusive studies, leaving 37.
Results
The 42-study evidence base
The following table is the central evidence map for the analysis.
Additional information appears in the Table Annotations section, before the References.
Human-AI collaboration is the largest single category in this evidence set. Twenty-six of the 42 studies (61.9%) were classified as favoring human-AI collaboration. When the five inconclusive studies were removed, the figure is 26 out of 37 (70.3%).
However, collectively, the studies do not indicate a single best configuration:
In Cases of Work Involving a Specific Task
The studies in this analysis span different levels of focus. Some examine broad forms of work, such as projects, that comprise multiple tasks, while others examine a single task.
At the task level, an organization may have one task where AI is typically the best configuration, another where humans are, and a third where the two together do best.
For each important task, it helps to ask:
Generally, human-AI collaboration looks most promising for conceptual and generative work where humans and AI bring different capabilities, such as ideation and brainstorming, content design and creation, and niche domain problem-solving. Human-only work may remain the better choice for tasks with high emotional complexity, unstructured environments, or ethical nuance. AI-only execution may suit analytical and evaluative work, such as high-volume data sorting, pattern recognition, and statistical forecasting.
Buckle up: There are lots of limitations to factor and negotiate.
This article is longer than Interstellar. So we’re wrapping it up.
Which performs best: humans alone, AI alone, or human-AI collaboration? The empirical evidence indicates that human-AI collaboration generally performs better than either humans or AI alone.
Our analysis of 42 studies found that human-AI collaboration was the largest single best-performing category in the evidence set. Twenty-six studies (61.9%) showed human-AI collaboration as the best-performing configuration. Excluding the five studies that were classified as inconclusive, the figure was 70.3% (compared with 18.9% for humans and 10.8% for AI). The other 16 studies favored humans alone (7), AI alone (4), or were inconclusive (5), showing mixed results.
There is no universal winner. The best configuration depends on the endeavor. Conceptual and generative work is most effectively handled by humans and AI working together. For cognitive and relational work, humans have the edge. And for analytical and evaluative work, AI does.
Yet, across the evidence of a broad range of 42 studies, human-AI collaboration emerges as the strongest overall approach. As a larger implication, an advantage belongs to human-AI teams that effectively handle what Scott M. Graffius calls "exotic team dynamics"—the novel, strange, and often counterintuitive patterns that emerge when people and AI collaborate as teammates.
Scott M. Graffius' "Phases of Team Development" provides unique insights and practical strategies to help teams become more effective and successful. He developed it in 2008, and he updates it periodically. Graffius’ work is used by businesses, professional associations, government agencies, universities, and publications around the world. Select examples include Adobe, American Management Association, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Bayer, Boston University, Broadcom, Cisco, DevOps Institute, Government of Finland, Hasso-Plattner-Institut für Digital Engineering GmbH, IEEE, Johns Hopkins University, Journal of Neurosurgery, Mary Raum (Professor of National Security Affairs, United States Naval War College), Microsoft, Oracle, Royal Australasian College of Physicians, Technical University of Munich, Torrens University, Tufts University, U.S. National Park Service, U.S. Tennis Association, UC San Diego, UK Sports Institute, University of Galway, University of Waterloo, Yale University, and many others.
Graffius expanded the 2026 edition of his "Phases of Team Development" beyond human-only teams. He added human-AI teams, with guidance on "exotic team dynamics." “Exotic team dynamics” describe the novel and often counterintuitive patterns that emerge when humans and advanced artificial intelligence function as teammates, and provide guidance on how to succeed with them. Understanding and navigating these complexities is essential for organizations seeking to unlock the full potential of human-AI teamwork and gain a competitive advantage. Explore "Scott M. Graffius' Phases of Team Development - Applied to Human Teams and Human-AI Teams: 2026 Update" and other resources detailed in the References to learn more.
Scott M. Graffius has generated over $3.1 billion in business value for Fortune 500 companies and other organizations around the world. Put that track record to work for you. For speaking engagements, use the request form; for other inquiries, email him.
Notes
Akben, M., Gude, V., & Ajjan, H. (2026). Collective and augmented intelligence outperform artificial intelligence on emotion recognition tests. Scientific Reports, 16, 14823. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-45331-5
Al-Ali, M., Marks, A., Mohamed, A. A., Balaha, H. M., Badawy, M., Elhosseini, M. A., & El-Agamy, R. F. (2026). Calibrated adaptive framework for trustworthy human and artificial intelligence decision systems. Scientific Reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-65730-y
Berretta, S., Tausch, A., Bülow, F., Kuhlenkötter, B., Topp, M., Els, C., Peifer, C., & Kluge, A. (2026). Human or AI first? A holistic perspective on the sequential order of joint human-AI inspection workflows. Applied Ergonomics, 132, 104669. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2025.104669
Chen, H. (2025). Enhancing qualitative inquiry: AI-assisted focus group data collection. Qualitative Research Journal, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1108/QRJ-04-2025-0145
Choi, J., Kim, Y. J., Lyu, P., Luan, Y. L., & Toh, S. M. (2026). Public reactions to hospitals after adverse events involving AI. npj Digital Public Health, 1, 17. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44482-026-00021-x
Choung, H., David, P., Mahmud, H., & Norcutt, S. (2026). Fairness and trust in AI decision-making: The role of human involvement and outcome favorability. International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 42(12), 9350–9370. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2025.2576634
Cristofaro, M., & Giardino, P. L. (2026). Human–AI synergy: Finding cognitive balance in idea generation for product innovation. European Journal of Innovation Management, 29(7), 2072–2094. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJIM-03-2025-0312
Flathmann, C., Schelble, B. G., & Galeano, A. (2024). Empirical impacts of independent and collaborative training on task performance and improvement in human-AI teams. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 68(1), 1447–1453. https://doi.org/10.1177/10711813241274425
Fügener, A., Walzner, D. D., & Gupta, A. (2025). Roles of artificial intelligence in collaboration with humans: Automation, augmentation, and the future of work. Management Science, 72(1), 538–557. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2024.05684
Gerlich, M. (2025). From offloading to engagement: An experimental study on structured prompting and critical reasoning with generative AI. Data, 10(11), 172. https://doi.org/10.3390/data10110172
Gonzalez, C., Donahue, K., Goldstein, D. G., Heidari, H., Jalali, M. S., Schelble, B., Singh, A., & Woolley, A. W. (2026). Toward a science of human–AI teaming for decision-making: A complementarity framework. PNAS Nexus, 5(3), pgag030. https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgag030
Graffius, S. M. (n.d.). Exotic team dynamics. ScottGraffius.com. https://scottgraffius.com/exotic-team-dynamics.html
Graffius, S. M. (2025, August 8). Exotic Team Dynamics: The New Frontier of Human–AI Collaboration. ScottGraffius.com. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.18048.49921
Graffius, S. M. (2025, August 22). Scott M. Graffius Premieres His New "Exotic Team Dynamics: Human-AI Collaboration" Talk at Corporate Event in Las Vegas. ScottGraffius.com. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.34380.07047
Graffius, S. M. (2026, January 3). Scott M. Graffius' Phases of Team Development - Applied to Human Teams and Human-AI Teams: 2026 Update. ScottGraffius.com. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.18184.89601
Graffius, S. M. (2026, June 22). L'avenir du Travail et de l'IA Avancée / Future of Work and Advanced AI. ScottGraffius.com. https://scottgraffius.com/blog/files/lavenir-du-travail-et-de-lia-avancee.html
Hemmer, P., Schemmer, M., Kühl, N., Vössing, M., & Satzger, G. (2025). Complementarity in human-AI collaboration: Concept, sources, and evidence. European Journal of Information Systems, 34(6), 979–1002. https://doi.org/10.1080/0960085X.2025.2475962
Hua, M., Zhang, G., Chong, L., Cagan, J., & Goucher-Lambert, K. (2025). How being outvoted by AI teammates impacts human-AI collaboration. International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 41(7), 4049–4066. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2024.2345980
Jin, S., & Rho, S. (2025). Effects of AI explanations on human-AI collaboration: An experimental study on decision performance and reliance. Seoul Journal of Business, 31(2), 67–99. https://doi.org/10.35152/snusjb.2025.31.2.003
Kang, D.-H., Yuan, L., Feng, J., Zhan, J., Grzybowski, A., Sun, W., & Jin, K. (2025). AI-assisted automated interpretation of corneal topography in orthokeratology patients: Enhancing diagnostic precision and efficiency. International Journal of Ophthalmology, 18(12), 2217–2224. https://doi.org/10.18240/ijo.2025.12.01
Krzywdzinski, M., Wotschack, P., Gonnermann-Müller, J., & Gronau, N. (2026). How team organization influences the ability to solve automation failures: An experimental study on human–AI decision-making in teams. AI & SOCIETY, 41(4), 3605–3620. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-025-02761-5
Kuang, E., Shen, L., Jahangirzadeh Soure, E., Fan, M., & Shinohara, K. (2026). Standardizing the evaluation of usability test results: Criteria development and human-AI collaborative performance. International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2026.2638554
Lai, X., & Rau, P.-L. P. (2026). Hybrid human–AI leadership: Exploring the influence of leadership structure on leadership effectiveness and neural activation. Behaviour & Information Technology, 45(6), 1007–1029. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2025.2545310
Li, A., Guo, C., Zhang, J., & Zhao, Q. (2025). A copula-based human–artificial intelligence collaborative decision-making approach for multi-hazard risk assessment. Computers & Industrial Engineering, 210, 111532. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cie.2025.111532
Liel, Y., & Zalmanson, L. (2025). Turning off your better judgment: Algorithmic conformity in artificial intelligence-human collaboration. Journal of Management Information Systems, 42(4), 1087–1117. https://doi.org/10.1080/07421222.2025.2561390
Liu, P., Zhang, J., Chen, S., & Chen, S. (2025). Human-AI teaming in healthcare: 1 + 1 > 2? npj Artificial Intelligence, 1, Article 47. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44387-025-00052-4
Luan, Y. L., Kim, Y. J., & Zhou, J. (2025). Augmented learning for joint creativity in human-GenAI co-creation. Information Systems Research. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.2024.0984
Mascareño, J., Wörtler, B., Przegalińska, A., & Ciechanowski, L. (2026). When proximal collaboration with AI hinders innovation: The moderating role of idea originality and reliance on AI. Computers in Human Behavior Reports, 22, 101054. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbr.2026.101054
Mayer, L. W., Karny, S., Ayoub, J., Song, M., Tian, D., Moradi-Pari, E., & Steyvers, M. (2026). Human–AI collaboration: Trade-offs between performance and preferences. Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, 11, 18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41235-026-00713-1
Memmert, L., Cvetkovic, I., Tavanapour, N., & Bittner, E. (2026). Brainstorming with a generative language model: Effect of exposure to AI ideas on brainstorming performance and cognitive load. Business & Information Systems Engineering, 68, 1023–1047. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12599-025-00974-y
Ngo, V. M. (2025). Human–AI collaboration in high-stakes decisions: A meta-analysis of healthcare and public sectors. Applied Economics Letters, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504851.2025.2586160
Ong, K. T.-I., Seo, J., Kim, H., Kim, J., Kim, J., Kim, S., Yeo, J., & Choi, E. Y. (2026). Success and failure of human-AI collaboration in clinical reasoning: An experimental study on challenging real-world cases. International Journal of Medical Informatics, 211, 106342. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2026.106342
Peng, K., Garg, N., & Kleinberg, J. (2025). A no free lunch theorem for human-AI collaboration. Proceedings of the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence, 39(13), 14369–14376. https://doi.org/10.1609/aaai.v39i13.33574
Raj, M., Berg, J. M., & Seamans, R. (2026). The artificial intelligence disclosure penalty: Humans persistently devalue AI-generated creative writing. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 155(4), 896–915. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001889
Rojas, E., Hsu, D., Huang, J., & Li, M. (2025). Interpersonal influence matters: Trust contagion and repair in human-human-AI team. Computers in Human Behavior: Artificial Humans, 5, 100194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbah.2025.100194
Schmutz, J. B., Outland, N., Kerstan, S., Georganta, E., & Ulfert, A.-S. (2024). AI-teaming: Redefining collaboration in the digital era. Current Opinion in Psychology, 58, 101837. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2024.101837
Senoner, J., Schallmoser, S., Kratzwald, B., Feuerriegel, S., & Netland, T. H. (2024). Explainable AI improves task performance in human–AI collaboration. Scientific Reports, 14, 31150. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-82501-9
Simpson, J., Patil, G., Stening, H., Kamruddin, A. B., Somerville, D., Seage, S., Nalepka, P., Dras, M., Hosking, S. G., Kallen, R. W., Richardson, M. J., & Richards, D. (2026). Can an AI agent lead human teams? Computers in Human Behavior: Artificial Humans, 7, 100278. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbah.2026.100278
Tang, M., Hofreiter, S., Werner, C. H., Zielińska, A., & Karwowski, M. (2025). “Who” is the best creative thinking partner? An experimental investigation of human-human, human-Internet, and human-AI co-creation. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 59(3), e1519. https://doi.org/10.1002/jocb.1519
Tannoubi, A., Bonsaksen, T., & Azaiez, F. (2026). Human-AI collaborative lesson design is associated with enhanced student outcomes and planning quality in secondary physical education: A randomized experimental study. Frontiers in Computer Science, 8, 1870451. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomp.2026.1870451
Vaccaro, M., Almaatouq, A., & Malone, T. (2024). When combinations of humans and AI are useful: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Nature Human Behaviour, 8, 2293–2303. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-02024-1
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Zöller, N., Berger, J., Lin, I., Fu, N., Komarneni, J., Barabucci, G., Laskowski, K., Shia, V., Harack, B., Chu, E. A., Trianni, V., Kurvers, R. H. J. M., & Herzog, S. M. (2025). Human–AI collectives most accurately diagnose clinical vignettes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122(24), e2426153122. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2426153122
Scott M. Graffius is a technology leader, researcher, award-winning author, practitioner, consultant, thought leader, and international public speaker specializing in AI, Agile, project/program/portfolio management (PPPM), PMO leadership, and teamwork tradecraft. His work explores the intersection of human ingenuity and emerging technology, with a strong practitioner voice grounded in research, experimentation, and experience. His focus includes innovation, organizational performance, and the evolving practice of teamwork, including the "exotic team dynamics" that emerge when people collaborate with advanced artificial intelligence (agentic, autonomous, or autopoietic AI). Graffius has delivered more than $3.1 billion in business value for Fortune 500 companies and other organizations spanning technology, entertainment and media, financial services, healthcare, government, and other industries.
Businesses, professional associations, government agencies, universities, publications, and media outlets use Graffius and his work. Examples include Adobe, Bayer, Boston University, Ford, Gartner, Harvard Medical School, IEEE, Innovation Project Management, Johns Hopkins University, Microsoft, MSN, National Academy of Sciences, Oracle, Pinterest Inc., Project Management Institute, UC San Diego, Verizon, Yale University, and others.
The following sections highlight his experience, leadership, contributions, research, and enduring influence across industries and institutions worldwide.

Experience
Graffius heads the professional services firm Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions, along with its subsidiary Exceptional Agility. These consultancies offer strategic and tactical advisory, training, embedded expertise, and consulting services to the public, private, and government sectors. They help organizations enhance their capabilities and results in agile, project management, program management, portfolio management, and enterprise PMO leadership, supporting innovation and driving competitive advantage. The consultancies confidently back services with a Delighted Client Guarantee™.
Graffius is a former VP of project management with a publicly traded provider of diverse consumer products and services over the Internet. Before that, he ran and supervised the delivery of projects and programs in public and private organizations with businesses ranging from e-commerce to advanced technology products and services, retail, manufacturing, entertainment and media, and more.
He has experience with consumer, business, reseller, government, and international markets.
Additional information is on LinkedIn.
Award-Winning Author
Graffius has authored three books.
Graffius' first book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions, earned 17 awards. It provides a practical, step-by-step guide to Scrum, enabling teams to deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation, fast time-to-market, and continuous improvement—which supports innovation and drives competitive advantage.
Additional information on Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is here.

His second book, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change, was named one of the best Scrum books of all time by BookAuthority. It tells the compelling story of an entertainment company's agile transformation—offering lessons that apply across industries.
Additional information on Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change is here.

Agile Protocol: The Transformation Ultimatum, is his third book—and his first work of fiction.
It's a fast-paced satirical story by that dismantles corporate Agile cosplay and other forms of "fake Agile" while delivering practical insights, actionable guidance, and proven practices for real-world Agile transformation success.
Packed with humor, quirky characters, sharp commentary on corporate culture and workplace absurdities, and actionable tips, it’s a must-read for Scrum Masters, Product Owners, Agile Coaches, Agile Project Managers, and other professionals interested in Agile project management and enterprise agility.
Additional information on Agile Protocol: The Transformation Ultimatum is here.

International Public Speaker
Organizations worldwide engage Graffius to present on technology (including AI), Agile, project management, program management, portfolio management, and enterprise PMO leadership. He crafts and delivers unique and compelling talks and workshops.
Graffius has conducted 99 sessions across 25 countries. Select examples of events include Agile Trends Gov, BSides (Newcastle Upon Tyne), Conf42 Quantum Computing, DevDays Europe, DevOps Institute, DevOpsDays (Geneva), Frug’Agile, IEEE, Microsoft, Scottish Summit, Scrum Alliance RSG (Nepal), Techstars, and W Love Games International Video Game Development Conference (Helsinki), Future of Work and Advanced AI (Paris, France), and more.
With an average rating of 4.82 (on a scale of 1-5), sessions are highly valued.
The request form is here.
Thought Leadership and Influence
Prominent businesses, professional associations, government agencies, and universities have showcased Graffius and his contributions—spanning his books, talks, workshops, and beyond. Select examples include:
Graffius has played a key role in the Project Management Institute (PMI) in developing professional standards. He was a member of multiple teams that authored, reviewed, and produced:
He was also a subject matter expert reviewer of content for the PMI’s Congress. Beyond the PMI, Graffius also served as a member of the review team for two of the Scrum Alliance’s Global Scrum Gatherings.
Authority on Teamwork Tradecraft

Graffius is a renowned and highly-cited authority on teamwork tradecraft. Informed by the research of Bruce W. Tuckman and Mary Ann C. Jensen, over 150 subsequent studies, and Graffius' first-hand professional experience with, and analysis of, team leadership and performance, Graffius created his "Phases of Team Development" intellectual property as a unique perspective and visual conveying the five phases of team development.
First introduced in 2008 and periodically updated, his work provides a diagnostic and strategic guide for navigating team dynamics. It provides actionable insights for leaders across industries to develop high-performance teams.

Its adoption by esteemed organizations—such as Yale University, IEEE, Cisco, Microsoft, Ford, Oracle, Broadcom, the U.S. National Park Service, and the Journal of Neurosurgery, among others—highlights its utility and value, solidifying its status as an indispensable resource for elevating team performance and driving organizational excellence.
In 2026, Graffius added human-AI teamwork—including the "exotic team dynamics" which emerge when advanced AI collaborates as a teammate—to his "Phases of Team Development." The 2026 edition is here.
Expert on Temporal Dynamics on Social Media Platforms

Graffius is also an authority on temporal dynamics on social media platforms. His "Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts" research—first published in 2018 and updated annually—delivers a precise quantitative analysis of post longevity across digital platforms, utilizing advanced statistical techniques to determine mean half-life with precision. It establishes a solid empirical base, effectively highlighting the ephemeral nature of content within social media ecosystems.
Referenced and applied by leading entities—such as Fast Company, GoDaddy, Journal of Hand Surgery (European Volume), Ministère de la Culture, Pinterest Inc., PNAS, and Telecommunications Policy, among others—his research exemplifies methodological rigor and sustained significance in the field of digital informatics.
The 2026 edition of Graffius "Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts" research is here.
Education and Professional Certifications
Graffius has a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a focus in Human Factors. He holds eight professional certifications:
He is an active member of the Scrum Alliance, the Project Management Institute (PMI), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
Advancing AI, Agile, and Project/PMO Management
Scott M. Graffius continues to advance the fields of AI, Agile, and project/program/portfolio management (PPPM), and PMO leadership. Businesses and other organizations leverage Graffius’ insights to drive their success.
Graffius has generated over $3.1 billion in business value for Fortune 500 companies and other organizations served. Put that track record to work for you. For speaking engagements, use the request form; for other inquiries, email him.
Connect with and follow Scott on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, Facebook, Bluesky, Mastodon, and ResearchGate.














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Graffius, S. M. (2026, October 1). Which Performs Best: Humans, AI, or Human-AI Collaboration? We Analyzed the Data. ScottGraffius.com. https://scottgraffius.com/blog/files/which-performs-best-humans-ai-or-human-ai-collab.html

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Graffius, S. M. (2026, October 1). Which Performs Best: Humans, AI, or Human-AI Collaboration? We Analyzed the Data. ScottGraffius.com. https://scottgraffius.com/blog/files/which-performs-best-humans-ai-or-human-ai-collab.html
About This Article
Source information and links for materials cited are provided in the References section.
Introduction
Which performs best: humans, AI, or human-AI collaborations?
Prior studies have reached different conclusions about whether human-AI combinations outperform humans or AI alone. To answer this question, we conducted a deep-dive analysis of empirical evidence across a broad range of studies to determine what the data show. The findings might surprise you.
Methodology
Research question
This article examines the central question: Do human-AI collaborations outperform humans and AI working independently? A bonus question is: Under what conditions does each configuration generally perform best?
"Human-AI collaboration" is used broadly in this analysis. It includes human-AI teams, human-AI decision-making, hybrid workflows, human-AI collectives, and other arrangements in which humans and AI jointly collaborate on an outcome.
The term collaborative advantage is used more narrowly. A human-AI system demonstrates a collaborative advantage when its performance exceeds both human-only and AI-only performance on the relevant task.
Evidence base
This analysis draws on 42 unique published studies.
All 42 sources were published within the past three years (2024-2026): 4 in 2024, 18 in 2025, and 20 in 2026. This reflects the fast pace of AI development and ensures the evidence speaks to current systems.
The studies cover a range of domains, including medicine and healthcare, education, creativity, decision-making, risk assessment, human factors, teamwork, intelligence analysis, and other areas.
The studies also differ considerably in design. Some directly compare human-only, AI-only, and human-AI configurations. Others compare two configurations. Some examine human-AI collaboration more indirectly by studying factors such as trust, reliance, explanation, workflow, role allocation, or decision processes.
That heterogeneity is less of a limitation for the present objective, which is to characterize the broader empirical landscape and identify recurring patterns.
Classification of findings
Each study was reviewed and classified according to the strongest conclusion supported by its findings.
The outcome categories were:
- Humans alone perform best
- AI alone performs best
- Human-AI collaboration performs best
- Findings are inconclusive
The classifications identify the principal result relevant to the core question. Do not interpret this as meaning every study was a direct three-way comparison.
The inconclusive category was reserved for studies in which the authors reported no meaningful difference.
Each study in the table below is assigned one principal designation. The four summary rows at the bottom of the table are simple tallies of those designations: the first pair (count and percentage) covers all 42 studies, and the second pair excludes the five inconclusive studies, leaving 37.
Results
The 42-study evidence base
The following table is the central evidence map for the analysis.
| # | Short reference | Domain | Humans Perform Best | AI Performs Best | Human-AI Collaboration Performs Best | Inconclusive |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vaccaro et al. (2024) | Multiple domains | ✓ | |||
| 2 | Hemmer et al. (2025) | Decision-making | ✓ | |||
| 3 | Liu et al. (2025) | Decision-making | ✓ | |||
| 4 | Wang et al. (2026) | Healthcare | ✓ | |||
| 5 | Zöller et al. (2025) | Medicine/diagnosis | ✓ | |||
| 6 | Berretta et al. (2026) | Decision-making | ✓ | |||
| 7 | Vo (2025) | Human-AI interaction | ✓ | |||
| 8 | Lai & Rau (2026) | Human-AI teams | ✓ | |||
| 9 | Memmert et al. (2026) | Decision-making/teamwork | ✓ | |||
| 10 | Akben et al. (2026) | Decision-making | ✓ | |||
| 11 | Fügener et al. (2025) | Operations/decision-making | ✓ | |||
| 12 | Hua et al. (2025) | Human-AI teams | ✓ | |||
| 13 | Flathmann et al. (2024) | Human-AI teaming | ✓ | |||
| 14 | Schmutz et al. (2024) | Human factors/teamwork | ✓ | |||
| 15 | Krzywdzinski et al. (2026) | Organizational/teamwork | ✓ | |||
| 16 | Mascareño et al. (2026) | Creativity/innovation | ✓ | |||
| 17 | Ong et al. (2026) | Decision-making | ✓ | |||
| 18 | Mayer et al. (2026) | Human-AI interaction | ✓ | |||
| 19 | Wang et al. (2026) | Intelligence analysis | ✓ | |||
| 20 | Gonzalez et al. (2026) | Human-AI teaming | ✓ | |||
| 21 | Senoner et al. (2024) | Manufacturing/decision support | ✓ | |||
| 22 | Wu et al. (2025) | Human-AI collaboration | ✓ | |||
| 23 | Winter (2025) | Teamwork/creativity | ✓ | |||
| 24 | Liel & Zalmanson (2025) | Decision-making | ✓ | |||
| 25 | Rojas et al. (2025) | Human-AI teams | ✓ | |||
| 26 | Simpson et al. (2026) | Teamwork | ✓ | |||
| 27 | Cristofaro & Giardino (2026) | Cognition/AI use | ✓ | |||
| 28 | Ngo (2025) | Healthcare/public sector | ✓ | |||
| 29 | Kuang et al. (2026) | Usability/user research | ✓ | |||
| 30 | Li et al. (2025) | Risk assessment | ✓ | |||
| 31 | Kang et al. (2025) | Medicine/imaging | ✓ | |||
| 32 | Zeng et al. (2026) | Cybersecurity/decipherment | ✓ | |||
| 33 | Al-Ali et al. (2026) | Decision-making | ✓ | |||
| 34 | Tannoubi et al. (2026) | Education | ✓ | |||
| 35 | Gerlich (2025) | Education/cognition | ✓ | |||
| 36 | Luan et al. (2025) | Creativity | ✓ | |||
| 37 | Tang et al. (2025) | Creativity | ✓ | |||
| 38 | Jin & Rho (2025) | Human-AI decision-making | ✓ | |||
| 39 | Choi et al. (2026) | Human-AI interaction | ✓ | |||
| 40 | Raj et al. (2026) | Creative writing | ✓ | |||
| 41 | Choung et al. (2026) | Human-AI interaction | ✓ | |||
| 42 | Chen (2025) | Qualitative research | ✓ | |||
| # of 42 | 7 | 4 | 26 | 5 | ||
| % of 42 | 16.7% | 9.5% | 61.9% | 11.9% | ||
| # excl. inconclusive | 7 | 4 | 26 | |||
| % excl. inconclusive | 18.9% | 10.8% | 70.3% |
Additional information appears in the Table Annotations section, before the References.
Discussion
Human-AI collaboration is the largest single category in this evidence set. Twenty-six of the 42 studies (61.9%) were classified as favoring human-AI collaboration. When the five inconclusive studies were removed, the figure is 26 out of 37 (70.3%).
However, collectively, the studies do not indicate a single best configuration:
- Of the 42 studies, 26 (61.9%) favored human-AI collaboration, 7 (16.7%) favored humans alone, 4 (9.5%) favored AI alone, and 5 (11.9%) were inconclusive.
- Excluding the five inconclusive studies, there are 37 studies. Of them, 26 (70.3%) favored human-AI collaboration, 7 (18.9%) favored humans alone, and 4 (10.8%) favored AI alone.
In Cases of Work Involving a Specific Task
The studies in this analysis span different levels of focus. Some examine broad forms of work, such as projects, that comprise multiple tasks, while others examine a single task.
At the task level, an organization may have one task where AI is typically the best configuration, another where humans are, and a third where the two together do best.
For each important task, it helps to ask:
- What does the task require?
- What does the human bring, and what does the AI bring?
- Where do those differences help, and where might they cause errors or friction?
- What workflow would let the strengths combine?
- How does each configuration actually perform: human alone, AI alone, and the two together?
- What does the data say?
Generally, human-AI collaboration looks most promising for conceptual and generative work where humans and AI bring different capabilities, such as ideation and brainstorming, content design and creation, and niche domain problem-solving. Human-only work may remain the better choice for tasks with high emotional complexity, unstructured environments, or ethical nuance. AI-only execution may suit analytical and evaluative work, such as high-volume data sorting, pattern recognition, and statistical forecasting.
Limitations
Buckle up: There are lots of limitations to factor and negotiate.
- The 42 publications are not methodologically uniform. Some directly compare humans, AI, and human-AI configurations. Others compare only two conditions or examine aspects of human-AI collaboration. The percentages reported here describe this particular evidence set; they are not pooled effect estimates.
- The studies cover different domains and tasks.
- AI capabilities are changing rapidly. A result obtained with an earlier model does not necessarily predict the performance of a current or future model. This is why the analysis prioritizes 2024–2026 publications and should be updated as technology and the research base develop.
- Different studies use different designs or performance measures. Accuracy, speed, quality, creativity, diagnostic performance, decision quality, and other measures are not interchangeable. A collaboration can improve one dimension while worsening another.
- Some studies examine laboratory or controlled settings rather than long-term real-world teams. Real-world collaboration introduces factors such as organizational culture, training, incentives, trust, workload, accountability, and learning over time.
- Publication bias is possible. Studies reporting interesting positive or negative results may be more likely to be published or noticed than studies finding little or no difference. Vaccaro et al. specifically identify possible publication bias and variation in study designs as limitations of the existing evidence base.
- Classifications in this article necessarily involve judgment. The intent was to classify the principal finding relevant to the core question while avoiding overstatement.
Conclusion
This article is longer than Interstellar. So we’re wrapping it up.
Which performs best: humans alone, AI alone, or human-AI collaboration? The empirical evidence indicates that human-AI collaboration generally performs better than either humans or AI alone.
Our analysis of 42 studies found that human-AI collaboration was the largest single best-performing category in the evidence set. Twenty-six studies (61.9%) showed human-AI collaboration as the best-performing configuration. Excluding the five studies that were classified as inconclusive, the figure was 70.3% (compared with 18.9% for humans and 10.8% for AI). The other 16 studies favored humans alone (7), AI alone (4), or were inconclusive (5), showing mixed results.
There is no universal winner. The best configuration depends on the endeavor. Conceptual and generative work is most effectively handled by humans and AI working together. For cognitive and relational work, humans have the edge. And for analytical and evaluative work, AI does.
Yet, across the evidence of a broad range of 42 studies, human-AI collaboration emerges as the strongest overall approach. As a larger implication, an advantage belongs to human-AI teams that effectively handle what Scott M. Graffius calls "exotic team dynamics"—the novel, strange, and often counterintuitive patterns that emerge when people and AI collaborate as teammates.
Note
Scott M. Graffius' "Phases of Team Development" provides unique insights and practical strategies to help teams become more effective and successful. He developed it in 2008, and he updates it periodically. Graffius’ work is used by businesses, professional associations, government agencies, universities, and publications around the world. Select examples include Adobe, American Management Association, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Bayer, Boston University, Broadcom, Cisco, DevOps Institute, Government of Finland, Hasso-Plattner-Institut für Digital Engineering GmbH, IEEE, Johns Hopkins University, Journal of Neurosurgery, Mary Raum (Professor of National Security Affairs, United States Naval War College), Microsoft, Oracle, Royal Australasian College of Physicians, Technical University of Munich, Torrens University, Tufts University, U.S. National Park Service, U.S. Tennis Association, UC San Diego, UK Sports Institute, University of Galway, University of Waterloo, Yale University, and many others.
Graffius expanded the 2026 edition of his "Phases of Team Development" beyond human-only teams. He added human-AI teams, with guidance on "exotic team dynamics." “Exotic team dynamics” describe the novel and often counterintuitive patterns that emerge when humans and advanced artificial intelligence function as teammates, and provide guidance on how to succeed with them. Understanding and navigating these complexities is essential for organizations seeking to unlock the full potential of human-AI teamwork and gain a competitive advantage. Explore "Scott M. Graffius' Phases of Team Development - Applied to Human Teams and Human-AI Teams: 2026 Update" and other resources detailed in the References to learn more.
Scott M. Graffius has generated over $3.1 billion in business value for Fortune 500 companies and other organizations around the world. Put that track record to work for you. For speaking engagements, use the request form; for other inquiries, email him.
Table Annotations
Notes
- Vaccaro et al. (2024): Overall, AI was indicated. On average, human–AI combinations performed worse than the better of human-only or AI-only. Gains were more common in creation tasks; losses in decision tasks. When humans > AI, combinations often gained; when AI > humans, combinations often lost.
- Hemmer et al. (2025): Overall, human-AI collaboration was indicated. Supports complementary team performance (CTP) when information or capability asymmetries exist and are properly leveraged; CTP is not automatic.
- Liu et al. (2025): Overall, AI was indicated. Medical AI augments clinicians, but full complementarity (HMT > both alone) is rare. Simultaneous teaming mode and junior clinicians show more benefit; sequential mode less so.
- Wang et al. (2026): Inconclusive was indicated. Mixed / non-significant or uncertain advantages for H+AI vs human-only on key metrics; H+AI did not universally outperform AI-only in three-arm settings; high prediction-interval uncertainty.
- Zöller et al. (2025): Overall, human-AI collaboration was indicated. Collectives outperformed individual physicians, physician collectives, individual LLMs, and LLM ensembles by leveraging complementary error patterns.
- Berretta et al. (2026): Overall, human-AI collaboration was indicated. AI-first then human workflow was best overall (faster than human-only, fewer errors than AI-only); human–AI improved certain psychological measures.
- Vo (2025): Inconclusive was indicated. Human outperformed on novelty; AI on style in some stages; collaboration finished last on key CPSS ratings. Results varied by design stage and criterion.
- Lai & Rau (2026): Inconclusive was indicated. Leadership effectiveness was comparable across human-only and AI-only; hybrid structures did not significantly outperform single-leader conditions.
- Memmert et al. (2026): Overall, human-AI collaboration was indicated. Individual humans did not improve with GLM support, but the human–AI dyad collectively achieved superior/complementary performance on standard brainstorming metrics.
- Akben et al. (2026): Overall, human-AI collaboration was indicated. Aggregated / collective human–AI intelligence outperformed either component alone.
- Fügener et al. (2025): Overall, human-AI collaboration was indicated. Appropriate human–AI role allocation produced higher performance than alternatives.
- Hua et al. (2025): Overall, human-AI collaboration was indicated. Conditional support for teaming; poor AI teammates can substantially deteriorate performance.
- Flathmann et al. (2024): Overall, human-AI collaboration was indicated. Training and preparation influenced human–AI team performance positively under studied conditions.
- Schmutz et al. (2024): Overall, humans were indicated. Human–AI teams can underperform when core mechanisms (trust, communication, coordination, shared cognition) are weak.
- Krzywdzinski et al. (2026): Overall, human-AI collaboration was indicated. Team organization and communication influenced AI-assisted performance positively.
- Mascareño et al. (2026): Overall, humans were indicated. Proximal AI collaboration hindered innovation under certain conditions.
- Ong et al. (2026): Overall, AI was indicated. Collaboration improved human performance under some conditions but remained below LLM performance overall.
- Mayer et al. (2026): Overall, human-AI collaboration was indicated. Effective collaboration is possible under appropriate AI adaptation strategies; performance–preference trade-offs exist.
- Wang et al. (2026): Overall, human-AI collaboration was indicated. Hybrid workflow produced the highest analyst accuracy.
- Gonzalez et al. (2026): Overall, human-AI collaboration was indicated. The framework identifies conditions supporting effective complementary teaming.
- Senoner et al. (2024): Overall, human-AI collaboration was indicated. Explainable AI improved human performance in collaboration.
- Wu et al. (2025): Overall, human-AI collaboration was indicated. Collaboration improved immediate task performance (motivation effects noted separately).
- Winter (2025): Overall, humans were indicated. Human teams outperformed human–AI teams under the study’s competitive conditions.
- Liel & Zalmanson (2025): Overall, humans were indicated. Participants sometimes performed better without AI recommendations.
- Rojas et al. (2025): Overall, human-AI collaboration was indicated. Trust dynamics affected performance in human–human–AI teams.
- Simpson et al. (2026): Overall, humans were indicated. Human-led teams generally outperformed AI-led teams.
- Cristofaro & Giardino (2026): Overall, human-AI collaboration was indicated. Conditional synergy depending on AI-use intensity and cognitive engagement.
- Ngo (2025): Overall, AI was indicated. AI augmentation was observed, but generally negative collaboration effects.
- Kuang et al. (2026): Overall, human-AI collaboration was indicated. Tailored AI + human review produced the highest-quality results.
- Li et al. (2025): Overall, human-AI collaboration was indicated. Human–AI approach exceeded both human-only and AI-only performance.
- Kang et al. (2025): Overall, human-AI collaboration was indicated. The combined approach produced the highest accuracy and fastest processing.
- Zeng et al. (2026): Overall, human-AI collaboration was indicated. Human–computer collaboration improved multiple decipherment measures.
- Al-Ali et al. (2026): Overall, human-AI collaboration was indicated. Adaptive hybrid exceeded human-only and uncalibrated AI; calibrated AI was slightly higher on raw reward in some comparisons.
- Tannoubi et al. (2026): Overall, human-AI collaboration was indicated. Hybrid human–AI lesson design generally produced the strongest outcomes.
- Gerlich (2025): Overall, human-AI collaboration was indicated. Guided human–AI interaction produced stronger critical reasoning.
- Luan et al. (2025): Overall, human-AI collaboration was indicated. Collaboration did not automatically improve joint creativity; guided co-creation supported better-designed collaboration.
- Tang et al. (2025): Overall, humans were indicated. Human–human teams performed better on divergent thinking.
- Jin & Rho (2025): Overall, human-AI collaboration was indicated. Explanations improved accuracy and reduced inappropriate reliance.
- Choi et al. (2026): Inconclusive was indicated. Primarily examined perceptions of trust and fairness rather than comparative task-performance outcomes.
- Raj et al. (2026): Overall, humans were indicated. Participants consistently devalued AI-generated creative writing compared with human-generated work (primarily a preference/perception finding).
- Choung et al. (2026): Inconclusive was indicated. Primarily examined fairness and trust perceptions.
- Chen (2025): Overall, human-AI collaboration was indicated. Human oversight affected efficiency and depth positively in qualitative inquiry.
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Kang, D.-H., Yuan, L., Feng, J., Zhan, J., Grzybowski, A., Sun, W., & Jin, K. (2025). AI-assisted automated interpretation of corneal topography in orthokeratology patients: Enhancing diagnostic precision and efficiency. International Journal of Ophthalmology, 18(12), 2217–2224. https://doi.org/10.18240/ijo.2025.12.01
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Memmert, L., Cvetkovic, I., Tavanapour, N., & Bittner, E. (2026). Brainstorming with a generative language model: Effect of exposure to AI ideas on brainstorming performance and cognitive load. Business & Information Systems Engineering, 68, 1023–1047. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12599-025-00974-y
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About Scott M. Graffius
Scott M. Graffius is a technology leader, researcher, award-winning author, practitioner, consultant, thought leader, and international public speaker specializing in AI, Agile, project/program/portfolio management (PPPM), PMO leadership, and teamwork tradecraft. His work explores the intersection of human ingenuity and emerging technology, with a strong practitioner voice grounded in research, experimentation, and experience. His focus includes innovation, organizational performance, and the evolving practice of teamwork, including the "exotic team dynamics" that emerge when people collaborate with advanced artificial intelligence (agentic, autonomous, or autopoietic AI). Graffius has delivered more than $3.1 billion in business value for Fortune 500 companies and other organizations spanning technology, entertainment and media, financial services, healthcare, government, and other industries.
Businesses, professional associations, government agencies, universities, publications, and media outlets use Graffius and his work. Examples include Adobe, Bayer, Boston University, Ford, Gartner, Harvard Medical School, IEEE, Innovation Project Management, Johns Hopkins University, Microsoft, MSN, National Academy of Sciences, Oracle, Pinterest Inc., Project Management Institute, UC San Diego, Verizon, Yale University, and others.
The following sections highlight his experience, leadership, contributions, research, and enduring influence across industries and institutions worldwide.

Experience
Graffius heads the professional services firm Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions, along with its subsidiary Exceptional Agility. These consultancies offer strategic and tactical advisory, training, embedded expertise, and consulting services to the public, private, and government sectors. They help organizations enhance their capabilities and results in agile, project management, program management, portfolio management, and enterprise PMO leadership, supporting innovation and driving competitive advantage. The consultancies confidently back services with a Delighted Client Guarantee™.
Graffius is a former VP of project management with a publicly traded provider of diverse consumer products and services over the Internet. Before that, he ran and supervised the delivery of projects and programs in public and private organizations with businesses ranging from e-commerce to advanced technology products and services, retail, manufacturing, entertainment and media, and more.
He has experience with consumer, business, reseller, government, and international markets.
Additional information is on LinkedIn.
Award-Winning Author
Graffius has authored three books.
Graffius' first book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions, earned 17 awards. It provides a practical, step-by-step guide to Scrum, enabling teams to deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation, fast time-to-market, and continuous improvement—which supports innovation and drives competitive advantage.
- Paperback ISBN-13: 9781533370242
- Kindle ASIN: B01FZ0JIIY
Additional information on Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is here.

His second book, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change, was named one of the best Scrum books of all time by BookAuthority. It tells the compelling story of an entertainment company's agile transformation—offering lessons that apply across industries.
- Paperback ISBN-13: 9781072447962
- Kindle ASIN: B07R9LJLPJ
Additional information on Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change is here.

Agile Protocol: The Transformation Ultimatum, is his third book—and his first work of fiction.
It's a fast-paced satirical story by that dismantles corporate Agile cosplay and other forms of "fake Agile" while delivering practical insights, actionable guidance, and proven practices for real-world Agile transformation success.
Packed with humor, quirky characters, sharp commentary on corporate culture and workplace absurdities, and actionable tips, it’s a must-read for Scrum Masters, Product Owners, Agile Coaches, Agile Project Managers, and other professionals interested in Agile project management and enterprise agility.
- Kindle ASIN: B0F2SJ83WT
- Audible ASIN: B0DJG163R5
Additional information on Agile Protocol: The Transformation Ultimatum is here.

International Public Speaker
Organizations worldwide engage Graffius to present on technology (including AI), Agile, project management, program management, portfolio management, and enterprise PMO leadership. He crafts and delivers unique and compelling talks and workshops.
Graffius has conducted 99 sessions across 25 countries. Select examples of events include Agile Trends Gov, BSides (Newcastle Upon Tyne), Conf42 Quantum Computing, DevDays Europe, DevOps Institute, DevOpsDays (Geneva), Frug’Agile, IEEE, Microsoft, Scottish Summit, Scrum Alliance RSG (Nepal), Techstars, and W Love Games International Video Game Development Conference (Helsinki), Future of Work and Advanced AI (Paris, France), and more.
With an average rating of 4.82 (on a scale of 1-5), sessions are highly valued.
The request form is here.
Thought Leadership and Influence
Prominent businesses, professional associations, government agencies, and universities have showcased Graffius and his contributions—spanning his books, talks, workshops, and beyond. Select examples include:
- Adobe,
- American Management Association,
- Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute,
- Bayer,
- BCG,
- BMC Software,
- Boston Consulting Group (BCG),
- Boston University,
- Broadcom,
- Cisco,
- Coburg University of Applied Sciences and Arts - Germany,
- Computer Weekly,
- Constructor University - Germany,
- Data Governance Success,
- Deimos Aerospace,
- DevOps Institute,
- Dropbox,
- EU's European Commission,
- Ford Motor Company,
- Gartner,
- GoDaddy,
- Harvard Medical School,
- Hasso Plattner Institute - Germany,
- IEEE,
- Innovation Project Management,
- Johns Hopkins University,
- Journal of Marketing,
- Journal of Neurosurgery,
- Lam Research (Semiconductors),
- Leadership Worthy,
- Life Sciences Trainers and Educators Network,
- London South Bank University,
- Microsoft,
- MSN,
- NASSCOM,
- National Academy of Sciences,
- New Zealand Government,
- Ohio State University,
- Oracle,
- Pinterest Inc.,
- Project Management Institute,
- Mary Raum (Professor of National Security Affairs, United States Naval War College),
- Round Square Global Educational Network,
- Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP),
- SANS Institute,
- SBG Neumark - Germany,
- Singapore Institute of Technology,
- Torrens University - Australia,
- TBS Switzerland,
- Tufts University,
- UC San Diego,
- UK Sports Institute,
- University of Galway - Ireland,
- US Department of Energy,
- US National Park Service,
- US Soccer,
- US Tennis Association,
- Verizon,
- Wrike,
- Yale University,
- and many others.
Graffius has played a key role in the Project Management Institute (PMI) in developing professional standards. He was a member of multiple teams that authored, reviewed, and produced:
- The Standard for Artificial Intelligence in Portfolio, Program, and Project Management.
- Agile Practice Guide — Second Edition.
- A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) — Eighth Edition.
- A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) — Sixth Edition.
- The Standard for Program Management — Fourth Edition.
- Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures — Second Edition.
- The Practice Standard for Project Estimating — Second Edition.
He was also a subject matter expert reviewer of content for the PMI’s Congress. Beyond the PMI, Graffius also served as a member of the review team for two of the Scrum Alliance’s Global Scrum Gatherings.
Authority on Teamwork Tradecraft

Graffius is a renowned and highly-cited authority on teamwork tradecraft. Informed by the research of Bruce W. Tuckman and Mary Ann C. Jensen, over 150 subsequent studies, and Graffius' first-hand professional experience with, and analysis of, team leadership and performance, Graffius created his "Phases of Team Development" intellectual property as a unique perspective and visual conveying the five phases of team development.
First introduced in 2008 and periodically updated, his work provides a diagnostic and strategic guide for navigating team dynamics. It provides actionable insights for leaders across industries to develop high-performance teams.

Its adoption by esteemed organizations—such as Yale University, IEEE, Cisco, Microsoft, Ford, Oracle, Broadcom, the U.S. National Park Service, and the Journal of Neurosurgery, among others—highlights its utility and value, solidifying its status as an indispensable resource for elevating team performance and driving organizational excellence.
In 2026, Graffius added human-AI teamwork—including the "exotic team dynamics" which emerge when advanced AI collaborates as a teammate—to his "Phases of Team Development." The 2026 edition is here.
Expert on Temporal Dynamics on Social Media Platforms

Graffius is also an authority on temporal dynamics on social media platforms. His "Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts" research—first published in 2018 and updated annually—delivers a precise quantitative analysis of post longevity across digital platforms, utilizing advanced statistical techniques to determine mean half-life with precision. It establishes a solid empirical base, effectively highlighting the ephemeral nature of content within social media ecosystems.
Referenced and applied by leading entities—such as Fast Company, GoDaddy, Journal of Hand Surgery (European Volume), Ministère de la Culture, Pinterest Inc., PNAS, and Telecommunications Policy, among others—his research exemplifies methodological rigor and sustained significance in the field of digital informatics.
The 2026 edition of Graffius "Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts" research is here.
Education and Professional Certifications
Graffius has a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a focus in Human Factors. He holds eight professional certifications:
- Certified SAFe 6 Agilist (SA),
- Certified Scrum Professional - ScrumMaster (CSP-SM),
- Certified Scrum Professional - Product Owner (CSP-PO),
- Certified ScrumMaster (CSM),
- Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO),
- Project Management Professional (PMP),
- Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (LSSGB), and
- IT Service Management Foundation (ITIL).
He is an active member of the Scrum Alliance, the Project Management Institute (PMI), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
Advancing AI, Agile, and Project/PMO Management
Scott M. Graffius continues to advance the fields of AI, Agile, and project/program/portfolio management (PPPM), and PMO leadership. Businesses and other organizations leverage Graffius’ insights to drive their success.
Booking
Graffius has generated over $3.1 billion in business value for Fortune 500 companies and other organizations served. Put that track record to work for you. For speaking engagements, use the request form; for other inquiries, email him.
Connect with and follow Scott on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, Facebook, Bluesky, Mastodon, and ResearchGate.













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List of Additional Articles
Read more.
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The PMI + Agile Alliance Merger: A Recipe for Success?
When Agile, AI, and Strategic Thinking Converge
Scott M. Graffius’ Phases of Team Development: 2025 Update
Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts: Update for 2025
Verizon Features Scott M. Graffius
Do Not Read This Article! An Exploration of the Streisand Effect and Other Phenomena
Scott M. Graffius' 'Phases of Team Development' was Spotlighted in Journal of Neurosurgery
Pinterest Japan Uses Graffius’ Research on Temporal Dynamics on Social Media Platforms
Hochschule Coburg (Coburg University) Germany Uses Scott M. Graffius’ Phases of Team Development IP in Coursework on Agile Development
Wild World of Team Dynamics [Updated Two-Minute Video]
EU Europass Teacher Academy Features Scott M. Graffius’ ‘Phases of Team Development’ in Leadership Training
Side-by-Side Comparison of Retrospectives and Hot Washes
Constructor University 2024 Advanced Software Technology Handbook References Scott M. Graffius' Work on Team Dynamics
Strategies for Medical Team Success Featured Scott M. Graffius’ ‘Phases of Team Development’ Intellectual Property
SBG Neumark — Europe’s Largest Distribution Transformer Plant — Powers Up with Scott M. Graffius’ Intellectual Property
Scott M. Graffius’ Intellectual Property was Employed by the NHS — the Largest Single-Payer Healthcare System in Europe
Luxury Unwrapped: The Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide for Every Budget
Singapore Institute of Technology Features Work of Scott M. Graffius
Tufts University Features Scott M. Graffius 'Phases of Team Development' Intellectual Property
'Cat Herders': Retelling the Massive Success Story
Pennsylvania State Agency Used Scott M. Graffius' Intellectual Property
Copyright Infringement in a Book Published by AuthorHouse / Author Solutions / The Najafi Companies: Publisher Fails to Respond or Take Required Action
Pinterest Inc. References Scott M. Graffius’ Research
Bournemouth University Used Scott M. Graffius’ Intellectual Property
‘Comparative Methodological Guidelines: Handbook for Educators’ Violates Scott M. Graffius’ Copyright
Japan Backlog User Group Event Featured Scott M. Graffius’ ‘Phases of Team Development’
TurningWest's 'Trial'
Radio Silence from the American Association of Neurological Surgeons on Report of Blatant Plagiarism in Their ‘Journal of Neurosurgery’ Publication
Supplement to Graffius' 'Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts' Research: Typical Engagement Distribution Pattern for Social Media Posts
How Algorithms Shape the User Experience on Social Media Platforms
Thinkers360 Named Scott M. Graffius a Top Thought Leader on Agile
More articles are listed here.

How to Cite This Article
Graffius, S. M. (2026, October 1). Which Performs Best: Humans, AI, or Human-AI Collaboration? We Analyzed the Data. ScottGraffius.com. https://scottgraffius.com/blog/files/which-performs-best-humans-ai-or-human-ai-collab.html

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Coming soon

Content Acknowledgements
Names, marks, and content are the property of their respective owners.

Tags and Hashtags
- Artificial Intelligence
- Future of Work
- AI Research
- Decision Making
- Technology
- Human-AI Collaboration
- Human-AI Synergy
- Complementarity
- Human-AI Teams
- Human-AI Teaming
- Workflow Design
- Exotic Team Dynamics
- #AI
- #ArtificialIntelligence
- #FutureOfWork
- #Research
- #DecisionMaking
- #HumanAI
- #HumanAITeams
- #HumanAICollaboration
- #HumanAISynergy
- #HumanAITeaming
- #AugmentationVsAutomation
- #ExoticTeamDynamics
- #AIResearch

Post-Publication Notes
If there are any supplements or updates to this article after the date of publication, they will appear here.

Copyright
Copyright © Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved.
Content on this site—including text, images, videos, and data—may not be used for training or input into any artificial intelligence, machine learning, or automatized learning systems, or published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.

9 Free Stanford Lecture Videos to Build Your AI Knowledge
09 October 2026
BY SCOTT M. GRAFFIUS | ScottGraffius.com

Recommended Citation
Graffius, S. M. (2026, October 9). 9 Free Stanford Lecture Videos to Build Your AI Knowledge. ScottGraffius.com. https://scottgraffius.com/blog/files/9-free-stanford-lecture-videos-to-build-your-ai-knowledge.html
Artificial intelligence is reshaping how people work, learn, create, make decisions, and interact with the world. Its influence extends well beyond technology teams and specialist roles, reaching virtually every profession and many aspects of everyday life. No matter your background or level of technical expertise, a stronger understanding of AI can help you spot opportunities, ask better questions, evaluate its capabilities and limitations, and make more informed decisions about how you use it. You don't need to become an AI engineer to benefit from understanding the technology and its growing influence on the world around you.
Want to level up your understanding of artificial intelligence? Stanford University's CME 295: Transformers & Large Language Models offers nine recorded lectures covering the foundations, training, reasoning, agentic systems, evaluation, and emerging trends in AI.
The course explores the evolution of natural language processing (NLP), the core components of Transformer architecture, their relationship to large language models (LLMs), and techniques for improving model performance in real-world applications. It combines theory with practical insights to help learners understand and use LLMs effectively.
The free lectures are taught by Afshine Amidi and Shervine Amidi, both Adjunct Professors at Stanford University's Institute for Computational and Mathematical Engineering (ICME).
1. Transformer
Watch Lecture 1 on YouTube.
Topics include NLP fundamentals and tasks, tokenization, embeddings, Word2Vec, recurrent neural networks (RNNs), long short-term memory networks (LSTMs), the attention mechanism, and Transformer architecture.
2. Transformer-Based Models & Tricks
Watch Lecture 2 on YouTube.
Topics include attention approximation; multi-head, multi-query, and grouped-query attention (MHA, MQA, and GQA); positional embeddings, including learned embeddings and rotary positional embeddings (RoPE); Transformer-based architectures; and BERT and its derivatives.
3. Transformers & Large Language Models
Watch Lecture 3 on YouTube.
Topics include LLM definitions and architecture, mixture of experts, context length, temperature, sampling strategies, prompting, in-context learning, chain of thought, and self-consistency.
4. LLM Training
Watch Lecture 4 on YouTube.
Topics include pretraining, quantization, hardware optimization, supervised fine-tuning (SFT), and parameter-efficient fine-tuning using LoRA.
5. LLM Tuning
Watch Lecture 5 on YouTube.
Topics include preference tuning, reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF), reward modeling, reinforcement learning approaches such as proximal policy optimization (PPO) and variants, and direct preference optimization (DPO).
6. LLM Reasoning
Watch Lecture 6 on YouTube.
Topics include reasoning models, reinforcement learning for reasoning, group relative policy optimization (GRPO), and scaling.
7. Agentic LLMs
Watch Lecture 7 on YouTube.
Topics include retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), advanced RAG techniques, function calling, AI agents, and the ReAct framework.
8. LLM Evaluation
Watch Lecture 8 on YouTube.
Topics include using LLMs as judges, best practices and benefits, and associated biases and pitfalls.
9. Recap & Current Trends
Watch Lecture 9 on YouTube.
Topics include a course recap, trending topics, and closing thoughts.
The videos of the lectures are free at the links above. If you're interested in seeing the supporting textbook, Super Study Guide: Transformers & Large Language Models by course instructors Afshine Amidi and Shervine Amidi, it is available on Amazon here.

Stanford University is a leading private research university in Stanford, California. Founded in 1885, it is internationally recognized for its contributions to education, scientific discovery, technological innovation, and entrepreneurship. Stanford has played a significant role in developing Silicon Valley and advancing research across numerous disciplines, including artificial intelligence, computer science, engineering, and medicine.
Afshine Amidi and Shervine Amidi are twin brothers and Adjunct Professors at Stanford University's Institute for Computational and Mathematical Engineering (ICME). They jointly teach CME 295, Transformers & Large Language Models, and CME 296, Diffusion & Large Vision Models. Both earned bachelor's and master's degrees from École Centrale Paris. Afshine also holds a master's degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), while Shervine holds a master's degree from Stanford University. Their backgrounds span computational and mathematical engineering, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.
Scott M. Graffius is a technology leader, researcher, award-winning author, practitioner, consultant, thought leader, and international public speaker specializing in AI, Agile, project/program/portfolio management (PPPM), PMO leadership, and teamwork tradecraft. His work explores the intersection of human ingenuity and emerging technology, with a strong practitioner voice grounded in research, experimentation, and experience. His focus includes innovation, organizational performance, and the evolving practice of teamwork, including the "exotic team dynamics" that emerge when people collaborate with advanced artificial intelligence (agentic, autonomous, or autopoietic AI). Graffius has delivered more than $3.1 billion in business value for Fortune 500 companies and other organizations spanning technology, entertainment and media, financial services, healthcare, government, and other industries.
Businesses, professional associations, government agencies, universities, publications, and media outlets use Graffius and his work. Examples include Adobe, Bayer, Boston University, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Ford, Gartner, Harvard Medical School, IEEE, Innovation Project Management, Johns Hopkins University, Microsoft, MSN, National Academy of Sciences, Oracle, Pinterest Inc., Project Management Institute, UC San Diego, Verizon, Yale University, and others.
The following sections highlight his experience, leadership, contributions, research, and enduring influence across industries and institutions worldwide.

Experience
Graffius heads the professional services firm Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions, along with its subsidiary Exceptional Agility. These consultancies offer strategic and tactical advisory, training, embedded expertise, and consulting services to the public, private, and government sectors. They help organizations enhance their capabilities and results in agile, project management, program management, portfolio management, and enterprise PMO leadership, supporting innovation and driving competitive advantage. The consultancies confidently back services with a Delighted Client Guarantee™.
Graffius is a former VP of project management with a publicly traded provider of diverse consumer products and services over the Internet. Before that, he ran and supervised the delivery of projects and programs in public and private organizations with businesses ranging from e-commerce to advanced technology products and services, retail, manufacturing, entertainment and media, and more.
He has experience with consumer, business, reseller, government, and international markets.
Additional information is on LinkedIn.
Award-Winning Author
Graffius has authored three books.
Graffius' first book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions, earned 17 awards. It provides a practical, step-by-step guide to Scrum, enabling teams to deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation, fast time-to-market, and continuous improvement—which supports innovation and drives competitive advantage.
Additional information on Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is here.

His second book, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change, was named one of the best Scrum books of all time by BookAuthority. It tells the compelling story of an entertainment company's agile transformation—offering lessons that apply across industries.
Additional information on Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change is here.

Agile Protocol: The Transformation Ultimatum, is his third book—and his first work of fiction.
It's a fast-paced satirical story by that dismantles corporate Agile cosplay and other forms of "fake Agile" while delivering practical insights, actionable guidance, and proven practices for real-world Agile transformation success.
Packed with humor, quirky characters, sharp commentary on corporate culture and workplace absurdities, and actionable tips, it’s a must-read for Scrum Masters, Product Owners, Agile Coaches, Agile Project Managers, and other professionals interested in Agile project management and enterprise agility.
Additional information on Agile Protocol: The Transformation Ultimatum is here.

International Public Speaker
Organizations worldwide engage Graffius to present on technology (including AI), Agile, project management, program management, portfolio management, and enterprise PMO leadership. He crafts and delivers unique and compelling talks and workshops.
Graffius has conducted 99 sessions across 25 countries. Select examples of events include Agile Trends Gov, BSides (Newcastle Upon Tyne), Conf42 Quantum Computing, DevDays Europe, DevOps Institute, DevOpsDays (Geneva), Frug’Agile, IEEE, Microsoft, Scottish Summit, Scrum Alliance RSG (Nepal), Techstars, and W Love Games International Video Game Development Conference (Helsinki), Future of Work and Advanced AI (Paris, France), and more.
With an average rating of 4.82 (on a scale of 1-5), sessions are highly valued.
The request form is here.
Thought Leadership and Influence
Prominent businesses, professional associations, government agencies, and universities have showcased Graffius and his contributions—spanning his books, talks, workshops, and beyond. Select examples include:
Graffius has played a key role in the Project Management Institute (PMI) in developing professional standards. He was a member of multiple teams that authored, reviewed, and produced:
He was also a subject matter expert reviewer of content for the PMI’s Congress. Beyond the PMI, Graffius also served as a member of the review team for two of the Scrum Alliance’s Global Scrum Gatherings.
Authority on Teamwork Tradecraft

Graffius is a renowned and highly-cited authority on teamwork tradecraft. Informed by the research of Bruce W. Tuckman and Mary Ann C. Jensen, over 150 subsequent studies, and Graffius' first-hand professional experience with, and analysis of, team leadership and performance, Graffius created his "Phases of Team Development" intellectual property as a unique perspective and visual conveying the five phases of team development.
First introduced in 2008 and periodically updated, his work provides a diagnostic and strategic guide for navigating team dynamics. It provides actionable insights for leaders across industries to develop high-performance teams.

Its adoption by esteemed organizations—such as Yale University, IEEE, Cisco, Microsoft, Ford, Oracle, Broadcom, the U.S. National Park Service, and the Journal of Neurosurgery, among others—highlights its utility and value, solidifying its status as an indispensable resource for elevating team performance and driving organizational excellence.
In 2026, Graffius added human-AI teamwork—including the "exotic team dynamics" which emerge when advanced AI collaborates as a teammate—to his "Phases of Team Development." The 2026 edition is here.
Expert on Temporal Dynamics on Social Media Platforms

Graffius is also an authority on temporal dynamics on social media platforms. His "Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts" research—first published in 2018 and updated annually—delivers a precise quantitative analysis of post longevity across digital platforms, utilizing advanced statistical techniques to determine mean half-life with precision. It establishes a solid empirical base, effectively highlighting the ephemeral nature of content within social media ecosystems.
Referenced and applied by leading entities—such as Fast Company, GoDaddy, Journal of Hand Surgery (European Volume), Ministère de la Culture, Pinterest Inc., PNAS, and Telecommunications Policy, among others—his research exemplifies methodological rigor and sustained significance in the field of digital informatics.
The 2026 edition of Graffius "Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts" research is here.
Education and Professional Certifications
Graffius has a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a focus in Human Factors. He holds eight professional certifications:
He is an active member of the Scrum Alliance, the Project Management Institute (PMI), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
Advancing AI, Agile, and Project/PMO Management
Scott M. Graffius continues to advance the fields of AI, Agile, and project/program/portfolio management (PPPM), and PMO leadership. Businesses and other organizations leverage Graffius’ insights to drive their success.
Graffius has generated over $3.1 billion in business value for Fortune 500 companies and other organizations served. Put that track record to work for you. For speaking engagements, use the request form; for other inquiries, email him.
Connect with and follow Scott on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, Facebook, Bluesky, Mastodon, and ResearchGate.














Read more.
Meta CTO Called the AI Reorganization “Atrocious” — What Went Wrong and the Lessons for Human-AI Teams
A Critical Analysis of "AI and Quantum Computers Will Be Frenemies"
A Supplement to Graffius' Phases of Team Development: Exploring the Original, Data-Based Curvature for the Performance Trajectory
Scott M. Graffius Speaking on Strategic Leadership at Silicon Valley Chapter of the Project Management Institute
AI Hallucinations, Deception, and Unauthorized Agency: The Spectrum of AI Trust Failures
A Critical Analysis of "The Social Cost of an AI Teammate: How an Artificial Teammate Reshapes Human-Human Communication in Small-Team Decision-Making"
Journal of Marketing Cites Scott M. Graffius' Research on the Half-Life of Social Media
The Evolution of Pair Programming and the Rise of Exotic Team Dynamics
Number 1 University in England for Student Satisfaction Features Scott M. Graffius' "Phases of Team Development"
Royal Australasian College of Physicians Licenses Scott M. Graffius' "Phases of Team Development" Intellectual Property on Teamwork Tradecraft
Exotic Team Dynamics: How Advanced AI Teammates Are Unlocking New Levels of Innovation, Performance, and Success
A Critical Analysis of "Platform-Specific Data Decay Patterns: A Comparative Study of Twitter, Reddit, and TikTok" and Its Reference to Research by Scott M. Graffius
Round Square Global Educational Network Features Scott M. Graffius’ Phases of Team Development
Meta's Muse Missed the Mark: Hollywood’s Win Against Big Tech on AI Consent and Likeness Rights
Scott M. Graffius Contributed to Seven Project Management Institute (PMI) Standards
Quantum Computing, Advanced AI Acceleration, and the Rise of Exotic Team Dynamics in Human-AI Teams
Ohio State University Course Features Scott M. Graffius' "Phases of Team Development"
Questions About Integrity at UNC Chapel Hill
Scrum Isn’t Just for Coding
Book on Generative and Agentic AI Cites Scott M. Graffius' Work on AI
IPA / ADAL Publication Plagiarized Another’s Copyrighted Work and Violated Intellectual Property Rights
UC Davis' Integrity Is Circling the Drain
L'avenir du Travail et de l'IA Avancée / Future of Work and Advanced AI
NCCI / UNC Chapel Hill Publication Features Scott M. Graffius' Work
Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Features Scott M. Graffius' Research on Social Media Content Half-Life
UC Davis Used Scott M. Graffius' "Phases of Team Development" Intellectual Property
Medical, Pharma, and Healthcare Organizations Are Using Scott M. Graffius' "Phases of Team Development"
Government of Ireland Report Features Research by Scott M. Graffius
Scott M. Graffius Contributed to The Standard for Artificial Intelligence in Portfolio, Program, and Project Management
AI Governance Initiative Cites Scott M. Graffius Research on AI Hallucinations
Scott M. Graffius Contributed to the Agile Practice Guide - Second Edition
Scott M. Graffius Generated Over $2.51 Billion in Business Value for Fortune 500 Companies and Other Organizations
Government of Canada Features Research by Scott M. Graffius
"Strategic Business Research" Journal Cites Work of Scott M. Graffius
IEEE Access Publication Features Scott M. Graffius’ Research on the Half-Life of Social Media
The Agile Coach: 2026 Edition
Scott M. Graffius’ Work Cited in International Peer-Reviewed Journal on Digital Transformation
Phases of Team Development in Elite Sport
A Critical Analysis of COVID-19 Treatment Search Trends and Media Coverage Study Citing Scott M. Graffius' Work
Human-AI Teamwork: Master the Exotic Team Dynamics That Emerge When Collaborating with Advanced AI -- Or Be Outplayed
"Agile Scrum" by Scott M. Graffius Now Featured on Grokipedia
UNSW Aerospace Engineering Course Features Scott M. Graffius' "Phases of Team Development"
Thinkers360 Honors Scott M. Graffius as a 2026 Top Agile Thought Leader
Agile's Journey Through the Decades: Update for 2026
BMC Software Features Content from Scott M. Graffius' Book
Peer-Reviewed Journal Cited Work of Scott M. Graffius
University of Waterloo Features Graffius' "Phases of Team Development" in Course Materials
Perplexity Standalone Article on AI Hallucinations Cites Research by Scott M. Graffius
Handling the Saboteur Within: Lessons from a 3-Letter Agency on Spotting and Stopping Intentional and Unintentional Sabotage
A Deep Dive Into the Typical Engagement Pattern for Social Media Posts
Most Valuable IT Certifications: Update for 2026
"Marketing in the Metaverse" Spotlights Scott M. Graffius’ Research on the Half-Life of Social Media
University of Greenwich Features Graffius' Phases of Team Development
10 Essential Agile Books: Curated Recommendations for Agile Professionals
Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts: Update for 2026
Scott M. Graffius' Research on the Half-Life of Social Media was Cited in a Peer-Reviewed Study Published in Telecommunications Policy, a Leading Academic Journal
Are AI Hallucinations Getting Better or Worse? We Analyzed the Data
Scott M. Graffius' Phases of Team Development - Applied to Human Teams and Human-AI Teams: 2026 Update
Lessons from Yesterday’s Tomorrowland
Scott M. Graffius’ Update to His "Phases of Team Development” Coming Early 2026
A Data-Driven Analysis of the Evolution of Project Management: Tasks, Trends, and AI
Actionable Insights. Global Impact. Scott M. Graffius.
Beep Beep! Why Wile E. Coyote Is the Patron Saint of AI Failure
Social Media Half-Life Research Cited in Prestigious Peer-Reviewed Medical Journal
Navigating the Spectrum of Advanced AI – Agentic, Autonomous, and Autopoietic
Lessons from Unhinged AI in Fiction: What Rogue AIs in Sci-Fi Storytelling, Films, and TV Shows Reveal About Us
Scott M. Graffius Contributed to and Reviewed the PMBOK Guide, 8th Edition — the Global Standard for Project Management
UK Sports Institute Features Teamwork and Leadership Work of Scott M. Graffius
Definitions of Advanced AIs: Agentic, Autonomous, and Autopoietic
HAN University of Applied Sciences Features the Work of Scott M. Graffius
Gifts That Inspire Joy
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Scott M. Graffius’ Team Development Work Lights Up the University of Tasmania’s Curriculum
Taiwan’s Leading Outlet for Technology and Innovation Spotlights Graffius’ Research on Social Media Temporal Dynamics
Scott M. Graffius’ Insights on AI, Agile, Gaming, XR, and Defense Transformation Cited by MSN in Their Coverage of Innovation and Leadership in the Sector
Top Predictions of 2024, Tested in 2025
Government of Finland Agency Features Graffius' Phases of Team Development IP
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Climbing the Ladder: The Head of Agile/PMO’s Organizational Proximity to the CEO is Closer Than Ever
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AI Showcase Showdown: Ranking AI Accuracy on Project Management Basics
BookAuthority Features “Agile Scrum” by Scott M. Graffius in “10 Agile Software Development Books That Define the Field”
Exploring Team Dynamics, Adaptability, and Creative Problem-Solving Through Felix the Cat’s Metaphorical Toolkit
Mind Games and Master Plans: How PsyOps Exploit Psychological Phenomena
The “Pants-on-Fire Index for AI”
16 Causes of Technical Debt and How to Avoid It
PMI’s Infinity AI Gets the Basics of Team Development Alarmingly and Repeatedly Wrong
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Do Not Read This Article! An Exploration of the Streisand Effect and Other Phenomena
Scott M. Graffius' 'Phases of Team Development' was Spotlighted in Journal of Neurosurgery
Pinterest Japan Uses Graffius’ Research on Temporal Dynamics on Social Media Platforms
Hochschule Coburg (Coburg University) Germany Uses Scott M. Graffius’ Phases of Team Development IP in Coursework on Agile Development
Wild World of Team Dynamics [Updated Two-Minute Video]
EU Europass Teacher Academy Features Scott M. Graffius’ ‘Phases of Team Development’ in Leadership Training
Side-by-Side Comparison of Retrospectives and Hot Washes
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Singapore Institute of Technology Features Work of Scott M. Graffius
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'Cat Herders': Retelling the Massive Success Story
Pennsylvania State Agency Used Scott M. Graffius' Intellectual Property
Copyright Infringement in a Book Published by AuthorHouse / Author Solutions / The Najafi Companies: Publisher Fails to Respond or Take Required Action
Pinterest Inc. References Scott M. Graffius’ Research
Bournemouth University Used Scott M. Graffius’ Intellectual Property
‘Comparative Methodological Guidelines: Handbook for Educators’ Violates Scott M. Graffius’ Copyright
Japan Backlog User Group Event Featured Scott M. Graffius’ ‘Phases of Team Development’
TurningWest's 'Trial'
Radio Silence from the American Association of Neurological Surgeons on Report of Blatant Plagiarism in Their ‘Journal of Neurosurgery’ Publication
Supplement to Graffius' 'Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts' Research: Typical Engagement Distribution Pattern for Social Media Posts
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Thinkers360 Named Scott M. Graffius a Top Thought Leader on Agile
More articles are listed here.

Graffius, S. M. (2026, October 9). 9 Free Stanford Lecture Videos to Build Your AI Knowledge. ScottGraffius.com. https://scottgraffius.com/blog/files/9-free-stanford-lecture-videos-to-build-your-ai-knowledge.html

Coming soon

Name, marks, and content are the property of their respective owners.
The listed videos are the property of the instructors, Afshine Amidi and Shervine Amidi, and Stanford University.


If there are any supplements or updates to this article after the date of publication, they will appear here.

Copyright © Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved.
Content on this site—including text, images, videos, and data—may not be used for training or input into any artificial intelligence, machine learning, or automatized learning systems, or published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.


Recommended Citation
Graffius, S. M. (2026, October 9). 9 Free Stanford Lecture Videos to Build Your AI Knowledge. ScottGraffius.com. https://scottgraffius.com/blog/files/9-free-stanford-lecture-videos-to-build-your-ai-knowledge.html
Introduction
Artificial intelligence is reshaping how people work, learn, create, make decisions, and interact with the world. Its influence extends well beyond technology teams and specialist roles, reaching virtually every profession and many aspects of everyday life. No matter your background or level of technical expertise, a stronger understanding of AI can help you spot opportunities, ask better questions, evaluate its capabilities and limitations, and make more informed decisions about how you use it. You don't need to become an AI engineer to benefit from understanding the technology and its growing influence on the world around you.
Want to level up your understanding of artificial intelligence? Stanford University's CME 295: Transformers & Large Language Models offers nine recorded lectures covering the foundations, training, reasoning, agentic systems, evaluation, and emerging trends in AI.
The course explores the evolution of natural language processing (NLP), the core components of Transformer architecture, their relationship to large language models (LLMs), and techniques for improving model performance in real-world applications. It combines theory with practical insights to help learners understand and use LLMs effectively.
The free lectures are taught by Afshine Amidi and Shervine Amidi, both Adjunct Professors at Stanford University's Institute for Computational and Mathematical Engineering (ICME).
The Nine Lectures
1. Transformer
Watch Lecture 1 on YouTube.
Topics include NLP fundamentals and tasks, tokenization, embeddings, Word2Vec, recurrent neural networks (RNNs), long short-term memory networks (LSTMs), the attention mechanism, and Transformer architecture.
2. Transformer-Based Models & Tricks
Watch Lecture 2 on YouTube.
Topics include attention approximation; multi-head, multi-query, and grouped-query attention (MHA, MQA, and GQA); positional embeddings, including learned embeddings and rotary positional embeddings (RoPE); Transformer-based architectures; and BERT and its derivatives.
3. Transformers & Large Language Models
Watch Lecture 3 on YouTube.
Topics include LLM definitions and architecture, mixture of experts, context length, temperature, sampling strategies, prompting, in-context learning, chain of thought, and self-consistency.
4. LLM Training
Watch Lecture 4 on YouTube.
Topics include pretraining, quantization, hardware optimization, supervised fine-tuning (SFT), and parameter-efficient fine-tuning using LoRA.
5. LLM Tuning
Watch Lecture 5 on YouTube.
Topics include preference tuning, reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF), reward modeling, reinforcement learning approaches such as proximal policy optimization (PPO) and variants, and direct preference optimization (DPO).
6. LLM Reasoning
Watch Lecture 6 on YouTube.
Topics include reasoning models, reinforcement learning for reasoning, group relative policy optimization (GRPO), and scaling.
7. Agentic LLMs
Watch Lecture 7 on YouTube.
Topics include retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), advanced RAG techniques, function calling, AI agents, and the ReAct framework.
8. LLM Evaluation
Watch Lecture 8 on YouTube.
Topics include using LLMs as judges, best practices and benefits, and associated biases and pitfalls.
9. Recap & Current Trends
Watch Lecture 9 on YouTube.
Topics include a course recap, trending topics, and closing thoughts.
Textbook Provides Additional Information
The videos of the lectures are free at the links above. If you're interested in seeing the supporting textbook, Super Study Guide: Transformers & Large Language Models by course instructors Afshine Amidi and Shervine Amidi, it is available on Amazon here.

About Stanford University
Stanford University is a leading private research university in Stanford, California. Founded in 1885, it is internationally recognized for its contributions to education, scientific discovery, technological innovation, and entrepreneurship. Stanford has played a significant role in developing Silicon Valley and advancing research across numerous disciplines, including artificial intelligence, computer science, engineering, and medicine.
About the Instructors
Afshine Amidi and Shervine Amidi are twin brothers and Adjunct Professors at Stanford University's Institute for Computational and Mathematical Engineering (ICME). They jointly teach CME 295, Transformers & Large Language Models, and CME 296, Diffusion & Large Vision Models. Both earned bachelor's and master's degrees from École Centrale Paris. Afshine also holds a master's degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), while Shervine holds a master's degree from Stanford University. Their backgrounds span computational and mathematical engineering, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.
About Scott M. Graffius
Scott M. Graffius is a technology leader, researcher, award-winning author, practitioner, consultant, thought leader, and international public speaker specializing in AI, Agile, project/program/portfolio management (PPPM), PMO leadership, and teamwork tradecraft. His work explores the intersection of human ingenuity and emerging technology, with a strong practitioner voice grounded in research, experimentation, and experience. His focus includes innovation, organizational performance, and the evolving practice of teamwork, including the "exotic team dynamics" that emerge when people collaborate with advanced artificial intelligence (agentic, autonomous, or autopoietic AI). Graffius has delivered more than $3.1 billion in business value for Fortune 500 companies and other organizations spanning technology, entertainment and media, financial services, healthcare, government, and other industries.
Businesses, professional associations, government agencies, universities, publications, and media outlets use Graffius and his work. Examples include Adobe, Bayer, Boston University, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Ford, Gartner, Harvard Medical School, IEEE, Innovation Project Management, Johns Hopkins University, Microsoft, MSN, National Academy of Sciences, Oracle, Pinterest Inc., Project Management Institute, UC San Diego, Verizon, Yale University, and others.
The following sections highlight his experience, leadership, contributions, research, and enduring influence across industries and institutions worldwide.

Experience
Graffius heads the professional services firm Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions, along with its subsidiary Exceptional Agility. These consultancies offer strategic and tactical advisory, training, embedded expertise, and consulting services to the public, private, and government sectors. They help organizations enhance their capabilities and results in agile, project management, program management, portfolio management, and enterprise PMO leadership, supporting innovation and driving competitive advantage. The consultancies confidently back services with a Delighted Client Guarantee™.
Graffius is a former VP of project management with a publicly traded provider of diverse consumer products and services over the Internet. Before that, he ran and supervised the delivery of projects and programs in public and private organizations with businesses ranging from e-commerce to advanced technology products and services, retail, manufacturing, entertainment and media, and more.
He has experience with consumer, business, reseller, government, and international markets.
Additional information is on LinkedIn.
Award-Winning Author
Graffius has authored three books.
Graffius' first book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions, earned 17 awards. It provides a practical, step-by-step guide to Scrum, enabling teams to deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation, fast time-to-market, and continuous improvement—which supports innovation and drives competitive advantage.
- Paperback ISBN-13: 9781533370242
- Kindle ASIN: B01FZ0JIIY
Additional information on Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is here.

His second book, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change, was named one of the best Scrum books of all time by BookAuthority. It tells the compelling story of an entertainment company's agile transformation—offering lessons that apply across industries.
- Paperback ISBN-13: 9781072447962
- Kindle ASIN: B07R9LJLPJ
Additional information on Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change is here.

Agile Protocol: The Transformation Ultimatum, is his third book—and his first work of fiction.
It's a fast-paced satirical story by that dismantles corporate Agile cosplay and other forms of "fake Agile" while delivering practical insights, actionable guidance, and proven practices for real-world Agile transformation success.
Packed with humor, quirky characters, sharp commentary on corporate culture and workplace absurdities, and actionable tips, it’s a must-read for Scrum Masters, Product Owners, Agile Coaches, Agile Project Managers, and other professionals interested in Agile project management and enterprise agility.
- Kindle ASIN: B0F2SJ83WT
- Audible ASIN: B0DJG163R5
Additional information on Agile Protocol: The Transformation Ultimatum is here.

International Public Speaker
Organizations worldwide engage Graffius to present on technology (including AI), Agile, project management, program management, portfolio management, and enterprise PMO leadership. He crafts and delivers unique and compelling talks and workshops.
Graffius has conducted 99 sessions across 25 countries. Select examples of events include Agile Trends Gov, BSides (Newcastle Upon Tyne), Conf42 Quantum Computing, DevDays Europe, DevOps Institute, DevOpsDays (Geneva), Frug’Agile, IEEE, Microsoft, Scottish Summit, Scrum Alliance RSG (Nepal), Techstars, and W Love Games International Video Game Development Conference (Helsinki), Future of Work and Advanced AI (Paris, France), and more.
With an average rating of 4.82 (on a scale of 1-5), sessions are highly valued.
The request form is here.
Thought Leadership and Influence
Prominent businesses, professional associations, government agencies, and universities have showcased Graffius and his contributions—spanning his books, talks, workshops, and beyond. Select examples include:
- Adobe,
- American Management Association,
- Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute,
- Bayer,
- BCG,
- BMC Software,
- Boston Consulting Group (BCG),
- Boston University,
- Broadcom,
- Cisco,
- Coburg University of Applied Sciences and Arts - Germany,
- Computer Weekly,
- Constructor University - Germany,
- Data Governance Success,
- Deimos Aerospace,
- DevOps Institute,
- Dropbox,
- EU's European Commission,
- Federal Reserve Bank of New York,
- Ford Motor Company,
- Gartner,
- GoDaddy,
- Harvard Medical School,
- Hasso Plattner Institute - Germany,
- IEEE,
- Innovation Project Management,
- Johns Hopkins University,
- Journal of Marketing,
- Journal of Neurosurgery,
- Lam Research (Semiconductors),
- Leadership Worthy,
- Life Sciences Trainers and Educators Network,
- London South Bank University,
- Microsoft,
- MSN,
- NASSCOM,
- National Academy of Sciences,
- New Zealand Government,
- Ohio State University,
- Oracle,
- Pinterest Inc.,
- Project Management Institute,
- Mary Raum (Professor of National Security Affairs, United States Naval War College),
- Round Square Global Educational Network,
- Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP),
- SANS Institute,
- SBG Neumark - Germany,
- Singapore Institute of Technology,
- Torrens University - Australia,
- TBS Switzerland,
- Tufts University,
- UC San Diego,
- UK Sports Institute,
- University of Galway - Ireland,
- US Department of Energy,
- US National Park Service,
- US Soccer,
- US Tennis Association,
- Verizon,
- Wrike,
- Yale University,
- and many others.
Graffius has played a key role in the Project Management Institute (PMI) in developing professional standards. He was a member of multiple teams that authored, reviewed, and produced:
- The Standard for Artificial Intelligence in Portfolio, Program, and Project Management.
- Agile Practice Guide — Second Edition.
- A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) — Eighth Edition.
- A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) — Sixth Edition.
- The Standard for Program Management — Fourth Edition.
- Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures — Second Edition.
- The Practice Standard for Project Estimating — Second Edition.
He was also a subject matter expert reviewer of content for the PMI’s Congress. Beyond the PMI, Graffius also served as a member of the review team for two of the Scrum Alliance’s Global Scrum Gatherings.
Authority on Teamwork Tradecraft

Graffius is a renowned and highly-cited authority on teamwork tradecraft. Informed by the research of Bruce W. Tuckman and Mary Ann C. Jensen, over 150 subsequent studies, and Graffius' first-hand professional experience with, and analysis of, team leadership and performance, Graffius created his "Phases of Team Development" intellectual property as a unique perspective and visual conveying the five phases of team development.
First introduced in 2008 and periodically updated, his work provides a diagnostic and strategic guide for navigating team dynamics. It provides actionable insights for leaders across industries to develop high-performance teams.

Its adoption by esteemed organizations—such as Yale University, IEEE, Cisco, Microsoft, Ford, Oracle, Broadcom, the U.S. National Park Service, and the Journal of Neurosurgery, among others—highlights its utility and value, solidifying its status as an indispensable resource for elevating team performance and driving organizational excellence.
In 2026, Graffius added human-AI teamwork—including the "exotic team dynamics" which emerge when advanced AI collaborates as a teammate—to his "Phases of Team Development." The 2026 edition is here.
Expert on Temporal Dynamics on Social Media Platforms

Graffius is also an authority on temporal dynamics on social media platforms. His "Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts" research—first published in 2018 and updated annually—delivers a precise quantitative analysis of post longevity across digital platforms, utilizing advanced statistical techniques to determine mean half-life with precision. It establishes a solid empirical base, effectively highlighting the ephemeral nature of content within social media ecosystems.
Referenced and applied by leading entities—such as Fast Company, GoDaddy, Journal of Hand Surgery (European Volume), Ministère de la Culture, Pinterest Inc., PNAS, and Telecommunications Policy, among others—his research exemplifies methodological rigor and sustained significance in the field of digital informatics.
The 2026 edition of Graffius "Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts" research is here.
Education and Professional Certifications
Graffius has a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a focus in Human Factors. He holds eight professional certifications:
- Certified SAFe 6 Agilist (SA),
- Certified Scrum Professional - ScrumMaster (CSP-SM),
- Certified Scrum Professional - Product Owner (CSP-PO),
- Certified ScrumMaster (CSM),
- Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO),
- Project Management Professional (PMP),
- Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (LSSGB), and
- IT Service Management Foundation (ITIL).
He is an active member of the Scrum Alliance, the Project Management Institute (PMI), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
Advancing AI, Agile, and Project/PMO Management
Scott M. Graffius continues to advance the fields of AI, Agile, and project/program/portfolio management (PPPM), and PMO leadership. Businesses and other organizations leverage Graffius’ insights to drive their success.
Booking
Graffius has generated over $3.1 billion in business value for Fortune 500 companies and other organizations served. Put that track record to work for you. For speaking engagements, use the request form; for other inquiries, email him.
Connect with and follow Scott on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, Facebook, Bluesky, Mastodon, and ResearchGate.













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More articles are listed here.

How to Cite This Article
Graffius, S. M. (2026, October 9). 9 Free Stanford Lecture Videos to Build Your AI Knowledge. ScottGraffius.com. https://scottgraffius.com/blog/files/9-free-stanford-lecture-videos-to-build-your-ai-knowledge.html

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Coming soon

Content Acknowledgements
Name, marks, and content are the property of their respective owners.
The listed videos are the property of the instructors, Afshine Amidi and Shervine Amidi, and Stanford University.

Tags and Hashtags
- Stanford AI lectures
- Free AI lectures
- Stanford CME 295 (CME295)
- Transformers
- Large language models
- Artificial intelligence
- Generative AI
- Machine learning
- LLM training and fine-tuning
- AI agents
- #ArtificialIntelligence
- #AI
- #StanfordUniversity
- #StanfordCME295
- #LargeLanguageModels
- #LLM
- #GenerativeAI
- #MachineLearning
- #AIResearch
- #AIAgents

Post-Publication Notes
If there are any supplements or updates to this article after the date of publication, they will appear here.

Copyright
Copyright © Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved.
Content on this site—including text, images, videos, and data—may not be used for training or input into any artificial intelligence, machine learning, or automatized learning systems, or published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.

