AI-Curated Knowledge Management and Flat Organization

The future of knowledge management lies in embracing the chaos of unstructured data.

If you’re on a free Medium plan, click here to read.

Decades ago, one of the symbols of a paper-based office was the filing cabinet. These steel boxes were placed in the corners of offices, and if you needed to check documents, you would open one of them. Inside, you would find many folders placed vertically, each with its own name tag to indicate its contents. Within each folder were the necessary documents, neatly organized.

This system, known as a filing system, was the pinnacle of knowledge organization in the 20th century.

The same principle was applied to archives. In the warehouses of organizations, large boxes (the equivalent of steel cabinets) were stored on massive shelves. Inside these boxes were folders placed vertically, each tagged for identification. The documents were preserved in layers: documents within folders, folders within cabinets or boxes.

This method ensured accessibility and represented the best possible solution for knowledge management in the 20th century.

Then came digitalization. While some sectors — such as finance, government, and libraries — still rely on…