AI can't write your op-ed: Why leadership thought pieces still need a human

Lately, every time I have met someone, I have been asked – what is the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in content writing and thought leadership? And I find myself saying, repeatedly, not very much.

It is true that when the AI hysteria was at its highest, there were conversations around content writers being replaced by the technology. However, overtime people are coming to realise that genuine ROI from AI comes from not replacing a writer but in complementing the efforts of one.

Can AI be original?

I have been in the communications industry for nearly three decades, delivering high-quality content for external and internal communications needs of diverse clients. Having written for many of the top executives in India, APAC and the US, I believe thought leadership content is an especially challenging field, where you need to walk in some really large shoes. Add to the mix AI, and you may be left with a bad case of too many cooks… or to be more relevant, too many messages and a force fit storyline.

No doubt AI is fast, efficient, and genuinely helpful. However, when it comes to thought leadership, it hits a ceiling very quickly.

Thought leadership is not about producing great content; it is about sharing original thoughts and perspectives, and that is where AI falls short.

AI slop and thought leadership?

The AI writing programs work by identifying patterns in existing information, repackaging what is already been said, often in a very polished, elegant tone. Further, AI churns out similar content, regardless of whether it is for FMCG industry or Automobile. As it can only draw from available data, its outputs tend to converge toward what is already available in public domain.

However, real thought leadership comes from original thoughts and lived experiences of company’s thinktanks, its leadership. It emerges from making strategic decisions, making mistakes, learning from them, and forming a point of view that is not obvious. After decades in this business, I can tell you this – the most valuable insights do not come from data alone; they come from context and judgement, woven in with instinct and perspective.

Can readers spot AI content?

Yes, AI gets us moving faster. It can help research, structure ideas, even refine language. But it cannot replace the experience, knowledge and point of view that forms the core of meaningful content. What's more, readers can sense that difference.

In fact, I believe, as AI-generated content becomes more common, truly human perspectives are becoming more valuable because of the distinctiveness between the two, which no algorithm can replicate.

Shikha Moudgill, is CEO, CoreComm