University of Kwazulu-Natal

Is Ai For First Drafts Killing Thought Leadership Forbes

Bonisiwe Shabane
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is ai for first drafts killing thought leadership forbes

Rekha Thomas, Principal at Path Forward Marketing, advises high-growth companies on GTM strategy and provides fractional CMO services. "AI for first drafts" has rapidly become one of the most frequently touted use cases by marketers for B2B content workflows. Marketers often point to saving time as a value prop of using AI, but this messaging oversimplifies the benefit. After all, not all content serves the same purpose. With the right inputs (messaging and positioning docs, brand and style guides), AI can quickly generate first drafts of product data sheets, proposals and technical assets to save significant time. Coupling these primary sources with prescriptive prompting about audience and channel empowers marketers to automate content creation at scale.

While AI excels at speeding up drafts in these examples, it falls short when content demands originality, nuance and authenticity. Abraham Verghese, author of The Covenant of Water and Cutting for Stone, spoke on the Writing Excuses podcast about the idea of muddling through as part of his creative process, saying: "I think we... You just can't adopt someone else's method and have it work for you. It doesn't always happen that way." Sonal Soveni, Founder of The Table & Gallery and Awe in Art Films. Thought leadership in a world dominated by artificial intelligence (AI) demands adaptability, a forward-thinking mindset and a nuanced understanding of AI's potential and its challenges.

After partnering with leaders in the AI field and taking a course on AI myself, here's how I think individuals and organizations can establish and sustain thought leadership in this landscape: Industry leaders can advocate for transparency and push for clear AI decision-making processes and algorithms that minimize bias. I recommend thought leaders collaborate with AI ethicists and researchers to draft and promote guidelines for responsible AI use. For example, working on projects akin to Google's AI principles or the EU's AI Act demonstrates a commitment to ethical practices. As technology seems to be taking over the world, human leadership is more important than ever. At first, I was very scared and threatened by AI if I’m being honest with you about how it was affecting the industries I invest in.

However, after the initial scare, I recognized it’s creating significant opportunity, especially when it comes to scaling certain areas of content. However, it’s also tempting companies to choose lazy ways of creating content with AI that has resulted in a lack of thought leadership from them. Leaders must use their voice to preserve empathy, creativity, and the nuanced decision-making that defines our humanity. While AI tech excels at efficiency and precision, human-centric leadership ensures these advancements are guided by ethical considerations, social responsibility, and an understanding of humanity’s unique needs. At its core, thought leadership encompasses the ability to articulate forward-thinking ideas, shape industry narratives, and provide valuable insights. Thought leaders need to be leading the conversations that matter.

How to leverage AI technology is one of the most important conversations of this era, so thought leaders should be driving the discourse. One way thought leaders are making a difference when it comes to discussing AI is that they play a pivotal role in demystifying the complexities surrounding the tech. As technologies become more sophisticated, leaders who can articulate and simplify these advancements are in high demand. Thought leaders help guide businesses and the general public navigating the intricate landscape of AI applications. Whether that means creating webinars or speaking at conferences, translating the “tech-speak” coming from the companies creating AI tech will help businesses and consumers become more comfortable with the changes coming their way. In addition to explaining AI, thought leaders have a duty to discuss the ethical implications of AI, including concerns about bias, privacy, and accountability.

Photo illustration by Liz Zonarich/Harvard Staff Experts weigh in on whether tech poses threat to critical thinking, pointing to cautionary tales in use of other cognitive labor tools A recent MIT Media Lab study reported that “excessive reliance on AI-driven solutions” may contribute” to “cognitive atrophy” and shrinking of critical thinking abilities. The study is small and is not peer-reviewed, and yet it delivers a warning that even artificial intelligence assistants are willing to acknowledge. When we asked ChatGPT whether AI can make us dumber or smarter, it answered, “It depends on how we engage with it: as a crutch or a tool for growth.” The Gazette spoke with faculty across a range of disciplines, including a research scientist in education, a philosopher, and the director of the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, to discuss critical thinking...

We asked them about the ways in which AI can foster or hinder critical thinking, and whether overreliance on the technology can dull our minds. The interviews have been edited for length and clarity. Veasey Conway/Harvard Staff Photographer Erica Schoder is executive director of the R Street Institute. Shopify made headlines with a deceptively simple rule: No new hires unless AI has tried the job first. CEO Tobi Lütke framed it as a cultural shift, not just a financial one.

Teams must prototype roles with AI before turning to headcount solutions. Employees are also evaluated on how well they integrate AI into their work. It's a bold move, and it's already sparking debate across the business world. At one level, it's a clever prompt: a speed bump to slow the hiring reflex and force clarity. But at another level, it raises deeper questions about what work really matters in the age of AI—and whether fear or creativity will guide our next steps. The late anthropologist David Graeber had a term for roles that persist despite appearing pointless even to the people doing them: bullshit jobs.

Not just uninspiring jobs, but jobs that even their holders believe have no real value. AI may not take your job, but it can help you find out which jobs aren't worth doing. What's intriguing about Shopify's provocation is not whether AI can do the job. It's whether the job is worth doing at all. That's the real gift of an "AI-first pass." It forces the question: Why does this role exist? What value does it create?

AI is not a magic wand. It’s a force multiplier. If your ideas are already strong, it can help you amplify them. If they’re shallow or unformed, it will just make your weaknesses more visible—at scale. And this tension is especially acute for small and medium-sized business leaders who are trying to carve out visibility in crowded niches without the benefit of big budgets or teams. To succeed as a thought leader today, you need to understand what AI can and can’t do—and more importantly, what you must still do.

Let’s unpack four pervasive myths I’ve encountered in working with clients and peers—and explore the deeper realities behind them. The tools may have changed. The bar has not. In fact, it’s been raised. AI isn’t coming. It’s already here quietly embedded in emails, dashboards, customer chats, strategic models, and the daily decisions that shape how organizations run.

And yet, many leaders are stuck on the sidelines, watching the transformation unfold and wondering where they fit into the story. There’s a growing tension in the C-suite: technology is accelerating, but leadership mindsets are lagging behind. Tools are evolving by the quarter. Teams are experimenting. Vendors are knocking with promises of productivity boosts and predictive insights. And still, hesitation lingers.

The truth? You don’t need to become a machine learning expert to lead effectively in the age of AI. You don’t need to write code or build custom models from scratch. What’s required is something more fundamental and arguably more powerful: a shift in mindset. “AI-first” leadership isn’t about being the most technical person in the room. It’s about being the most adaptable.

It’s about integrating AI into how you think, plan, and guide others. It’s about not treating AI like a side project or a task for someone else. Let’s start by clearing the air. In order to understand what AI-first leadership means, it’s important to first understand what AI-first leadership is not. Spoiler: It's an intellectual bloodbath. But the survivors will dominate.

Thought leadership is dying a slow, algorithmic death. What used to require blood, sweat, and career-risking boldness now takes 30 seconds and a ChatGPT prompt. The internet is drowning in AI-generated "insights" that sound profound but say absolutely nothing. Welcome to the thought leadership apocalypse. The Great AI Brain Drain Every day, thousands of "writers" post cookie-cutter content that reads like it was written by the same soulless robot.

Because it was. "10 Leadership Lessons from [Insert Trending Topic]" "Why [Obvious Business Concept] is the Future" "How AI Will Transform [Fill in the Blank]" It's intellectual junk food. Empty calories for your LinkedIn feed. AI can produce content at scale, but it can't replicate genuine expertise or hard-won insights. The smartest organizations are using AI to amplify their experts' voices, not replace them.

Personal anecdote: For several years, I worked with a global consulting firm of more than 70,000 employees to strengthen their position in the high-value technology, media, and telecoms sectors. What made the difference wasn't a huge advertising budget or a flood of daily posts. It was a clear strategy, the right voices, and a consistent approach. Over time, that combination built stronger engagement, new client leads, and experts whose insights people wanted to hear. That project shaped how I think about thought leadership, even in this era of AI. With AI making it possible to churn out (quite) polished articles in seconds, is there still a role for expert-led, time-intensive thought leadership?

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