Hachette CEO Explains Why Writing Your Own Emails Matters In The Age Of AI

Scores of professionals and executives have said that they rely on artificial intelligence (AI) to draft emails and summarise sensitive reports. For example, Microsoft executive VP Ryan Roslansky earlier mentioned that he uses AI to help write almost every "high-stakes" email he sends. But all SEOs are not the same. For David Shelley, the chief executive of Hachette Book Group and Hachette UK, writing every single email himself matters the most.

According to Fortune, Shelley believes that relying too much on AI is gradually lowering the standard of corporate leadership and can lead to a 'communication crisis'.

"I predict a growing dissonance between how someone appears in their written statements and how they are in real life," he told the media outlet.

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According to a survey by General Assembly and coaching firm Ezra, around 68% of leaders in the US and UK use AI to summarise documents. More than half (58%) use it to draft emails.

"Being able to write a good email yourself as a CEO is incredibly important," Shelley told Fortune, emphasising the importance of human quality in his writing.

Shelley also mentioned that when executives constantly turn to AI models for writing and thinking, they begin to lose vital mental muscles. They lose leadership traits like independent judgment, empathy, and natural curiosity.

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"Being a leader, you often have to think on your feet," he said, adding that dependence on AI to communicate "dulls the brain".

Shelley points out that drafting messages forces leaders to organise their thoughts, process details critically, and communicate with intent. When executives outsource these daily tasks to software, they miss out on crucial moments of reflection.