Linkedin is deprioritising posts written with AI.
At a panel discussion at Google yesterday one of the speakers confirmed that human-written, original content will now be prioritised over AI-written posts.
Some in the audience said that this was impossible – why would Linkedin embed an AI tool…and then punish people for using it!
That’s a strong argument. But I think it misses the point.
Everything a company does with AI at the moment is an experiment. We’re all making it up as we go along. And unintended consequences are everywhere.
Linkedin – like any social media platform – wants more active users.
By offering an AI tool, it hoped to lower the time commitment for writing posts. And to enable people who don’t write confidently to get stuck in.
Makes perfect sense.
What they maybe failed to predict was that some people would adopt the content in all its unedited glory, so that every post reads like being shouted at by an over-caffeinated Tony Robbins.
Or that a small percentage of super-users would leverage their AI-created content plan to churn out an endless stream of slightly-samey AI-written content.
Successful posts get fed back into the content engine and churned out a week later in a form as convincingly original as that roast chicken and potato frittata your local pub puts on as a ‘Monday Special’.
I’m throwing no shade on people who’ve used an available tool to promote their business.
They are more dedicated and organised than me – and those who have genuine insight still turn out great content.
But it does seem to make sense for Linkedin to favour posts sharing real earned knowledge, insight and experience. Where the writer has shared their own thoughts, in their own words.