Insights

August 13, 2026

AI is getting smarter, more capable and harder to measure. According to Stanford’s 2026 AI Index, frontier models, the most advanced AI systems currently available, gained 30 percentage points in a single year on Humanity’s Last Exam, a test of expert-level knowledge developed by the Center for AI Safety and Scale AI to measure the limits of the most advanced AI systems.

At the same time, “stop the slop” sentiment is growing, as platforms like Substack and LinkedIn introduce new tools to identify AI-generated prose.

For communicators, the challenge is figuring out how to use AI to work faster and meet client expectations without losing what makes the work human.

ICYMI: What can a food safety crisis teach every communicator? We unpacked the recent cyclosporiasis outbreak, the communications challenges it surfaced and what organizations can learn from the response. Read it here.

Interested in learning more? Join us for a Zoom discussion with policy experts on Europe’s changing landscape on Sept. 16 at 10 a.m. ET. Register here.

The push to keep the internet human

Last month, Substack partnered with AI detection company Pangram to roll out a new feature that allows readers to scan posts, notes, comments and replies to estimate how much was written by a human versus AI. Writers can also voluntarily disclose how they use AI in their work.

The platform says the goal isn’t to penalize AI-assisted writing, but to give readers more transparency into how the content they’re reading was made. Substack CEO Chris Best put the distinction another way: LLMs can help a writer with almost everything, but the writer still needs to do “the hard part” — having “an idea that’s worth reading, that’s worth caring about, that’s worth sharing.”

And Substack isn’t alone:

• LinkedIn: A recent analysis by Pangram found that more than 40% of LinkedIn posts longer than 250 words were likely written entirely by AI. The platform has since added “Seems like AI slop” as an option for reporting posts and is testing warnings that encourage users to add their own thoughts when content appears to rely heavily on AI.
  • “Slop is hard to define and the definition changes; this lets us tune our models and make better feeds,” LinkedIn Chief Product Officer Hari Srinivasan said in a post on the platform. In other words, users are flagging content that feels like AI to help LinkedIn’s models get better at recognizing it.
• Pinterest and TikTok: Pinterest lets users reduce AI-generated recommendations in certain categories, while TikTok allows users to adjust how much AI-generated content appears in their feeds.
• Anthropic: Even the companies building generative AI are now adding mechanisms to identify its output. Earlier this week, Anthropic announced that new Claude models will watermark AI-generated text to comply with new EU transparency rules. The invisible watermark follows the text when it’s copied and pasted and may even remain after editing.

When AI starts to erode trust

The issue isn’t whether AI touched a piece of content. Executives have always had teams helping them shape their public-facing communications.

It becomes an issue when readers begin to question whether the ideas themselves belong to the person whose name is on the post. As WSJ Leadership Institute’s Patrick Coffee put it, when people suspect that some of your content was written by a bot, “they’re less likely to take anything else they see under your name seriously.”

Think about how we encounter viral videos online. After questioning whether enough of them are real, it becomes easier to assume they’re all AI and enjoy them for what they are — regardless of how disappointing it might be to learn that the impossibly adorable animal encounter never actually happened.

That may be fine for entertainment. It doesn’t work for thought leadership. If readers start assuming an executive’s posts are AI-generated, the value of hearing from that person begins to disappear.

What communicators should know

• Give AI something human to work with. Start with an interview, rough draft, voice memo or an executive’s own takeaways, then use AI to organize, refine or polish it. For thought leadership, the ideas and opinions should still originate with the person whose name is on the piece.

• Don’t optimize away what makes someone interesting. Strong opinions, personal stories, unexpected observations and even some imperfection can make an executive more recognizable and credible. Efficiency shouldn’t come at the expense of voice.

• Not all AI use is equal. There’s a meaningful difference between using AI to tighten a human-written draft and asking it to manufacture an executive’s point of view. Communicators should think about transparency in terms of how AI was used, not simply whether it was used.

• You still own what goes out. Communicators remain responsible for the accuracy, judgment and reputational implications of what goes out under an executive’s or organization’s name.

The bottom line

OK Today goes global in Geneva

OK Today, a Global Gateway Advisors Foundation initiative, is on the ground at the AFS Youth Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, where its new youth-created mental health education platform, OK Today Talks, is making its global debut.

Created with youth advisors from around the world and reviewed by mental health and public health experts, the free, self-paced program gives young people practical tools to care for themselves, support their peers and create change through everyday conversations.

Young leaders from more than 100 countries are among the first to experience the program this week. Global Gateway Advisors established the Foundation as an outgrowth of the firm’s work in social impact, education and global citizenship. Explore OK Today Talks.

Key upcoming events

AI + Tech

• CIO 100 Awards & Conference (Frisco, Texas, Aug. 17-19) The world’s most influential CIOs and technology leaders gather to share how they’re scaling AI, accelerating digital transformation and turning innovation into measurable business results. Speakers include Jen Hartsock, EVP and chief information and digital officer at Cargill; Motti Finkelstein, former CIO of global IT at Intel and CEO of EMDO; and Deepa Soni, EVP and CIO of New York Life Insurance Company.

• WSJ Technology Council Summit (New York City, Sept. 14-15) Enterprise technology leaders gather to discuss how organizations are moving beyond AI experimentation to deployment, with a focus on ROI, cybersecurity, governance and business transformation. Speakers include Raj Subramaniam, CEO of FedEx; Kim Basile, CIO of Kyndryl; and Jared Isaacman, NASA administrator.

• Reuters Momentum AI (Austin, Sept. 24-25) Senior enterprise leaders explore how to move AI from experimentation to execution, with a focus on scaling technology, managing risk, leading organizational change and delivering measurable business results. Speakers include Anthony Moisant, CIO and chief security officer of Indeed; Leigh-Ann Russell, CIO and global head of engineering at BNY; and Jennifer Zmuda, CIO of UnitedHealth Group.

Geopolitics + Global Business

• Fortune Leaders Forum (Macau, China, Sept. 8) Leaders from Asia’s biggest companies gather to explore how geopolitical fragmentation, AI breakthroughs and demographic change are rewriting the rules of business. Speakers include Jane Sun, CEO of Trip.com Group; James Peng, CEO of autonomous driving company Pony.ai; and Christina Zhu, CEO of Walmart China.

• Europe’s Changing Landscape (Virtual, Sept. 16) Join Global Gateway Advisors for a discussion with experts on some of the most pressing issues facing businesses operating or approaching. For a preview, read our newsletter on the topic here and register here.

Leadership + Ideas

• Fast Company Innovation Festival (New York City, Sept. 14-17) Business leaders and innovators gather for four days of thought-provoking discussions, behind-the-scenes company tours and hands-on experiences exploring the future of business. Speakers include Martha Stewart, entrepreneur and co-founder of Hint; Cristiano Amon, CEO of Qualcomm; and Keily Blair, CEO of OnlyFans.

• The Atlantic Festival (New York City, Sept. 17-19) Leaders across politics, business, media and culture come together for three days of conversations, performances and live events examining the ideas shaping the moment. Speakers include Pete Buttigieg, former U.S. secretary of transportation; Whitney Wolfe Herd, CEO of Bumble; and Malcolm Gladwell, journalist and author.

• Concordia Annual Summit (New York City, Sept. 20-23) Business, government and nonprofit leaders gather during UNGA Week to discuss global challenges and opportunities for public-private collaboration. Speakers include Theresa May, former U.K. prime minister; Ivan Duque, former president of Colombia; and Ryan Gellert, CEO of Patagonia.

Marketing + Communications

• Brandweek by Adweek (Atlanta, Sept. 15-17) Brand and marketing leaders gather for three days of conversations, networking and hands-on learning focused on the strategies and AI skills shaping the industry. Speakers include Manolo Arroyo, EVP and chief marketing and customer commercial officer at The Coca-Cola Company; Tressie Lieberman, EVP and global chief brand officer at Starbucks; and Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s

• Marketing Brew Summit (New York City, Sept. 30) Creators, analysts and marketing innovators explore how human intuition, data and emerging technologies are reshaping strategy, storytelling and growth through strategic sessions and tactical playbooks. Speakers include Radhika Duggal, CMO of Major League Soccer; Magno Herran, VP of brand marketing and partnerships at Netflix; and Sarah Meron, chief communications and brand officer at IBM.

Bookmark Global Gateway Advisors’ event tracker, updated weekly.

Media news

• X endures. Despite repeated predictions of its demise and the rise of alternatives like Bluesky, Elon Musk’s Twitter-turned-X remains an influential platform for business and world leaders, with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang both recently turning to X for major AI announcements.
• Reddit feels the search squeeze. U.S. user growth slowed in the second quarter as search-engine referrals became more volatile. CEO Steve Huffman said AI overviews have yet to deliver the same positive impact as traditional search links.
• Christine Romans launches Current on NBC News Now. The new weekday program, which Romans describes as a “kitchen table show,” will connect major business, political and global developments to their impact on Americans’ everyday lives.
• Fortune goes daily. Fortune has launched Fortune Daily, its first daily video news show, hosted by Ellie Austin. The newsroom-driven program will go beyond the day’s business headlines to explore what they mean for viewers’ jobs, finances and decision-making, with interviews and insights from Fortune journalists, executives and other newsmakers.
• Spotify tests podcast ad skipping. Spotify is testing a “Skip Ahead” feature that lets some Premium subscribers bypass podcast ads sold directly by publishers, potentially eroding a key revenue stream for podcasters and giving Spotify-sold ads an advantage.

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Media moves

• Jennifer L. Wang (formerly Yahoo Finance) was hired as a global business editor by Bloomberg News.
• Erin Woo (formerly The Information) was hired by The Wall Street Journal to cover Google, while Leital Molad (formerly WaitWhat) was hired as director of shows.
• Jeff Beer is leaving Fast Company to become editorial director at ALTO.
• Deidre Bosa and Jasmine Wu are leaving CNBC at the end of the month to start a show on AI.
• Christian Baesler, who has led Business Insider on an interim basis since June, was named CEO, while Dan DeFrancesco was promoted to executive editor.
• Joel Schectman (formerly The Wall Street Journal) was hired as a reporter in ProPublica’s Washington bureau.
• Rachyl Jones, a tech reporter at Semafor, is leaving the organization for a new opportunity.
• Peter Sullivan (formerly Axios) was hired by Punchbowl News to cover healthcare.
• Matthew Heimer, executive editor of features at Fortune, has left the publication to pursue a master’s degree in social work.
• Tom Wilson, a correspondent at the Financial Times, is now covering cybersecurity after returning from book leave.
• Stella Xie is joining Nikkei’s New York bureau to cover U.S. finance, trade, economic policy and geopolitics after a year as a Knight-Bagehot Fellow at Columbia University.
• Charles Gorrivan has moved to Bloomberg News’ London bureau to cover oil trading and shipping.

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