Additional Coverage:
- One key place ‘The Diary of a CEO’ star Steven Bartlett has stopped using AI (businessinsider.com)
Local Media Mogul Puts the Brakes on AI “Slop” on LinkedIn, Embraces Human Touch
[City, State] – In a world increasingly saturated with artificial intelligence, even its biggest proponents are learning where to draw the line. Steven Bartlett, the entrepreneurial force behind “The Diary of a CEO” and his media company FlightStory, has wholeheartedly embraced AI across many of his operations. However, there’s one platform where he’s pulling back on the bots: LinkedIn.
FlightStory recently made the strategic decision to stop using AI to generate its LinkedIn posts. The reason? A growing tide of what the company’s CRO and co-founder, Christiana Brenton, bluntly calls “AI slop” on the professional networking site.
“You can really see the AI slop,” Brenton explained in a recent interview. She noted that Bartlett and his team quickly realized that as the digital landscape became more automated, the true opportunity lay in the opposite direction.
“What’s going to cut through on LinkedIn now more than ever? Actual human-written words,” she emphasized.
As a result, Bartlett himself, along with his team, now personally crafts every piece of social copy and content that goes out on LinkedIn. While human-written posts naturally take longer to produce, Brenton reports a noticeable improvement in their performance compared to their AI-generated predecessors.
In a deliberate move to further underscore authenticity, FlightStory is even embracing imperfections. Brenton pointed out that followers might now spot occasional spelling mistakes or errors in Bartlett’s posts, and that’s by design. “When you’re inundated with AI content, it starts to feel less human,” she said, highlighting the company’s commitment to genuine engagement.
This shift comes as LinkedIn itself has taken steps to preserve the integrity of its users’ feeds, implementing measures against artificially boosted posts and automated comments.
While LinkedIn is now a human-first zone, FlightStory’s broader AI integration, dubbed “Project Gutenberg” in a nod to the printing press inventor, remains robust. Last year, Bartlett challenged his staff to a two-month competition to explore AI agents in their work, leading to widespread AI adoption across FlightStory’s operations.
However, even with AI’s expansive role, the human element remains critical in certain areas. For instance, the final editing stages of AI-produced content, including the upcoming animated series “Steven’s World,” are still handled by staff. Isaac Martin, FlightStory’s director of innovation, stressed that “Things within that stage, like the flow and the dynamics, and the pacing, and human-engaging emotional elements, cannot be replicated, particularly not right now.”
Looking ahead, FlightStory is actively exploring other avenues to highlight the invaluable “human touch.” This includes developing new content inspired by Bartlett’s “Behind The Diary” series, which features minimally produced videos where he shares business insights and advice.
Brenton believes that as AI continues its expansion, the demand for more “raw and human” content will only grow, creating fresh opportunities for FlightStory to connect with its audience on a deeper, more authentic level.
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- One key place ‘The Diary of a CEO’ star Steven Bartlett has stopped using AI (businessinsider.com)