Brains not included - and that is precisely why authenticity becomes the leader's most important advantage

Yesterday I attended a breakfast meeting at BI Executive. The theme was "How authenticity will become the manager's strategic advantage in 2026", with a clear link to the use of AI.

The starting point was the book CTRL+ALT. Strategic, creative and practical - the art of writing for businesses by i.a. Øystein Bonvik, who was a speaker in dialogue with Hanne Kjærnes. The conversation dealt with management, language, brand and technology.

The main point was clear:
When AI makes it extremely easy to produce text, meaning, clarity and the human sender become more important than ever. When everyone can write "okay", it becomes crucial to write something that actually stands for something.

AI should therefore not be used to write for us, but to help us. As a structural partner, challenger of ideas and editor - not as a voice. Used correctly, AI works very well, even for demanding tasks. Used incorrectly, the communication is correct, but empty.

A central concept in the discussion was unconsciousness. AI makes it easy to be neutral, cautious and indistinct. The quest not to offend anyone can quickly end in texts that in practice say nothing. Authenticity is therefore not about "being yourself", but about matching who we are, what we do and how we express ourselves.

This is closely related to tone of voice. Many businesses are aware of their logo and colours, but far less so of how they actually sound. Language is perhaps the most important carrier of the brand's personality – internally and externally.

An important management point was the risk when managers bypass professional environments and employees by using AI to get quick answers. It can weaken both quality and trust. AI lacks judgment and empathy – and neither understands context, nuances or puns as humans do. A good pun can be obviously powerful to us, but completely incomprehensible to a machine.

We are still in the playroom. Just like when PPT and ClipArt arrived, we test, fail and learn. AI is the future, but mature use requires awareness. AI won't take your job – but the person who can use AI wisely will.

There was also an interesting reflection on academia and plagiarism. Plagiarism is the worst thing you can do, and at the same time the methods for revealing AI-generated text are far from accurate. Among other things, AI detectors have failed on texts written 20 years ago. It says something important that technology is not the challenge, but more about responsibility and judgement.

I asked about line of thought - and was clearly told to continue using it. It is a deliberate linguistic move, not an AI stamp.

"Brains not included" – a bit like "batteries not included". AI can help us a long way, but it is never an exemption from thinking for ourselves.