By JENNIFER CLANCY
If you think you’re clever for using AI to generate that seemingly provocative thought leadership article, you might be right. Unfortunately, in the arena of credible expertise, such actions play out less as shrewd and come off more as cunning.
Sure, some tasks are perfect for delegation to AI, like optimizing workflows, streamlining production processes, or data capture and organization. If you want to outsource your calendar scheduling to AI, by all means, go for it. If you want to automate workflow or improve vendor integration — great!
But automation buyers beware: It’s key to keep the real solve you’re seeking front and center. Is the purpose for deploying AI to save you time spent communicating with your team or is it really to create a buffer from human interaction or interpersonal responsibility? Diminishing your presence and connection by offloading responses to an email bot can hatchet your credibility. It’s critical to be thoughtful and intentional about where and why you deploy AI solutions.
When it comes to AI, thought leadership should be sacrosanct. The delivery of your expertise is not in the same category as calendar tasks or email communications. What kind of self-respecting expert would use AI to write and self-publish a thought leadership piece? It’s an absolute embarrassment on all levels.
And worse: It dilutes your reputation as an expert, as an authority.
I get the efficiency and task-killing applications for AI, but that technology should never be anywhere near thought leadership, which by definition, is understood to be the unique, tried-and-true ideas, philosophies and practices of a genuine expert in an industry or field of study, someone who offers a wide vision of the challenge alongside a prescriptive approach to finding and implementing solutions.
It’s the very value proposition for you, for your company, for your ability to deliver on the larger mission.
It begs the question: Why would anyone worth their salt choose an AI bot’s pontification over their own? If AI can produce the same information you are serving up, why do customers need you? What’s the unique value proposition for you, your team or your brand? For all we know, you were eating Cheetos in your pajamas with your feet up in front of reruns while an AI bot did all the synthesis, evaluation, and wordsmithing for you and under your byline.
Do I smell a charlatan?
If that’s not enough, AI-generated content is easy to detect, and not just by nature of the average reader’s suppositions. Originality.ai and other such platforms can effectively detect generative AI, mathematically. In The Register’s keen reporting, as much as 54% of self-proclaimed thought leadership content on LinkedIn is AI-generated. How ironic to use AI to present yourself as profound while profoundly misrepresenting yourself.
The entire goal of thought leadership is to put expertise on display, to demonstrate prowess and innovation, to exemplify deep knowledge and experience — to set yourself apart and above the median of your market. If the commentary is not derived and delivered from your brain and abilities and know-how, you’re demonstrating neither thought nor leadership.
If you want to contribute as a true thought leader, put in the effort to create meaningful, authentic and credible content — earned media articles; relevant and engaging blog posts that don’t read like infomercials; compelling, direct-address video columns — don’t outsource the very essence of your intellect and value to a machine that others could just as easily replicate. That completely and nakedly misses the point.
Now more than ever, being you, your authentic, genuine, human self — with your unique perspective, phraseology, tone, ideation and communication patterns — is the differentiator that those who can’t can only covet.
Do yourself a favor: Whether it’s in news articles, television or podcasts, social media, press releases or opinion pages, don’t undermine yourself by paying for sponsored articles or appearances that lack credibility and authority, or worse, allowing an AI bot to parade through the world as the true intelligence behind your curtain.
And if you insist on the latter, at least give the bot that did your heavy lifting proper attribution.