I recently learnt that some of the highest-paying job openings in tech are for communications advisers.

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Giants like OpenAI and Anthropic want to pay more for communicators than ever before.

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‎In some instances, more than they are willing to pay for coders.

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Even the world’s best-known storytellers, like Netflix, are promoting job openings for senior corporate storytellers.

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Even more telling: These jobs have salaries that are two or even three times higher than they were just a few months ago.

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What has changed?

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Why are these global players, even those behind AI, not just using ChatGPT to communicate?

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It works for you, doesn’t it?

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What these global firms have realised is that actually, no, it doesn’t.

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All over the LinkedIn-verse, businesses and their leaders have spent the past few years using AI to churn out God-awful content.

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Popular wisdom said that when it comes to socials, more is more is MORE.

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The result? An endless sea of sameness, an ocean of emoji-riddled slop that makes our eyes glaze over, and makes everyone and everything feel FAKE and HOLLOW.

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It’s most egregious when AI is used to generate content that is meant to reflect heartfelt moments of reflection.

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Thought leadership – shudder – is meant to be an opportunity for experts to share something they have thought long and hard about. Something they care about deeply.

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But when the fake masquerades as genuine, deep down, it offends us.

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So, what can business leaders in Malta take from all this?

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For starters: Copy pasting AI generated content is not going to drive engagement, it’s not going to move the needle.

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It may have got you started.

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But, increasingly, it is actually going to have the opposite effect: it is going to push people away.

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Sprinkle in some cringeworthy, early morning gym or work-out flex and congrats – you’re probably on your way to making people actively dislike you and, by extension, your business.

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Instead, try communication with meaning and purpose – communication that doesn’t have all the telltale signs of lazy AI use.

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Yes, it is harder to create, but you don’t need to post every day. That’s bullshit – you just don’t.

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Next: Working with credible media partners.

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Finding ways to have you and your brand referenced by journalists, columnists, and other trusted opinion-shapers.

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Instead of like hunting over your marathon run in a contrived post about Q1 sales performance and runner’s high, try to contribute to the national discussion in a genuine way.

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Ask yourself, what are you an expert at? Identify that and share that expertise with your audience.

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A genuine post with the occasional typo is better than grammatically perfect robo-text.

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In a sea of slop, this is how you stand out.