---
id: "entity-david-s-duncan"
type: "entity"
entityType: "person"
canonicalName: "David S. Duncan"
aliases: ["David Duncan"]
source_timestamps: ["§ Readers Also Viewed These Items"]
tags: ["author", "consulting", "expertise"]
related: ["entity-disruptive-edge", "entity-the-future-of-expertise", "entity-tyler-anderson"]
speakers: ["David S. Duncan"]
sources: ["reskilling"]
isSpeakerEntity: true
---
## Segment 10 — reskilling

## Article 32 — a032

# David S. Duncan

**Profile.** David S. Duncan is a partner at [[entity-disruptive-edge-d32|Disruptive Edge]] and the author of the forthcoming [[entity-the-future-of-expertise|The Future of Expertise]] (Harvard Business Review Press, Spring 2027). His work centers on growth strategy, innovation, AI adoption, and the changing nature of professional expertise in the AI era.

**Role in the source.** Co-author of *Help Employees Get Better—Not Just Faster—with AI*. With [[entity-tyler-anderson|Tyler Anderson]] he advances the thesis that [[claim-judgment-is-scarce|judgment is the scarce resource of the AI era]] and proposes the [[framework-four-step-ai-development|four-step development model]].

**Attributed contributions.** All four quotes are co-attributed to both authors: [[quote-ai-knowledge-context|AI knowledge vs. context]], [[quote-reverse-mastery|the reversal of expertise]], [[quote-friction-is-necessary|friction as a feature]], and [[quote-the-deliverable-redefined|redefining the deliverable]]. Core ideas he co-authors include [[concept-reverse-mastery|reverse mastery]], [[concept-reasoning-trail|the reasoning trail]], [[framework-ai-collaboration-modes|the five modes of AI collaboration]], and [[framework-difference-analysis|difference analysis]].

## Article 44 — a044

# David S. Duncan

**Role in the source:** Co-author of the HBR article "AI Is Changing the Structure of Consulting Firms" (Sept 2025) and a lead voice behind the pyramid-to-obelisk thesis.

**Profile:** A practitioner-author who leads [[entity-disruptive-edge-d44]], an AI-native consulting firm experimenting with the [[concept-consulting-obelisk]] — kicking off engagements with AI-powered deep-research reports and using [[entity-lovable]] to build functional prototypes in under two weeks, enabling smaller, more senior teams.

**Attributed contributions to this vault:** the core thesis; [[claim-pyramid-collapse]]; [[claim-incumbent-resistance]]; [[claim-ai-improves-speed-and-quality]]; the framework in [[framework-obelisk-roles]]; and the quotes [[quote-pyramid-collapse]], [[quote-bolting-on-ai]], and [[quote-obelisk-evolution]] (all jointly authored with [[entity-tyler-anderson]] and [[entity-jeffrey-saviano]]).