CEOs are reading fewer books because of AI—and it’s starting to worry them

In this article, CEOs are expressing concern over the impact AI is having on their reading habits. The big leadership story discussed is Donald Trump's salary freeze, which has raised concerns about worker retention. Markets are mixed globally due to ongoing tensions between the U.S. and Iran. The piece also highlights the surge in AI-generated PR pitches on LinkedIn, with over 1 million clicks on the "seems like AI slop" button. It's noted that AI now generates more online articles than humans do.

This AI content explosion is sparking debates on how to handle op-eds like the one written by investor Stan Druckenmiller for the Wall Street Journal using AI. The article touches upon the response from his editor and the broader conversation about what is considered appropriate. The author shares their own experience of asking people how AI is shaping their consumption and creation, including a prominent academic who uses AI up to 10 hours a day.

However, the author emphasizes that AI leaves leaders craving a good read, but they're reading fewer books and reports because of AI. They believe this is worrying for CEOs, as they recognize the value of nuance and originality in arguments. The article also mentions that about 40% of Americans didn't read a book last year, and one CEO in financial services is trying to read more traditionally, acknowledging that a slower, deeper read provides more time to digest and form conclusions.

The CEO of Bookshop.org, Andy Hunter, uses AI for code review but not for customer recommendations. He expresses concern about the rise of AI-generated books to capitalize on search trends, rather than fraud. He worries that Amazon isn't doing enough to protect customers from AI-generated content and that human curation is essential for recommending books to other humans.

The author concludes that as AI expands the mushy middle, where nobody wants to be, the right question to ask is whether it's making individuals more ordinary.