08/21/2026
Earlier this month, the EU put in place an act around the use of AI to ensure transparency and safety for users. Essentially, "the AI Act sets out risk-based rules for AI developers and deployers regarding specific uses of AI. It is part of a wider package of policy measures to support the development of trustworthy AI."
"This AI Act is the first-ever legal framework on AI, which addresses the risks of AI and positions Europe to play a leading role globally."
Why does this matter?
I predict this act is the first of many laws you will see governing how you use AI and why disclosure, transparency, and trust matter more now than ever.
When I first started teaching people how to use AI, one of the things I explained is every individual needs to have their own philosophy or guardrails regarding how they will or will not use AI. I cautioned people that there could come a time when all of the content you create using AI could be marked as "created by AI."
Last week, Anthropic announced that they will begin to deploy watermarks on text generated by AI. For now, those watermarks will not be detectable unless you have a reader for the watermarks. Who might need a reader? Think college professors who want to know if students actually wrote that report, as an example of why this might be useful, or the author who just went on a book publishing binge.
LinkedIn recently rolled out the ability for users to flag content as AI slop. The assumption is that these flags will deprioritize content in the algorithm. You can mark content this way by clicking the three dots on the top right of any post and then selecting "seems like AI slop."
Substack launched an AI detection feature that allows readers to estimate the percentage of content written by AI versus a human.
Which leads me to this...
Your reputation and the trust you build with your clients, colleagues, and future clients matters. It is not wrong to use AI to generate content, go all in, but it is wrong to pretend that the content was created by you if it wasn't.
As we move deeper into an AI world and more people understand how to use AI, the amount of deep fakes and deceptive content will grow. As a leader, you have to decide: what is your policy regarding AI use, and are you being open and honest about it?
If you used AI to help you edit, say so. If you used AI to help you create, say so.
Using the tool is not wrong; it's the lack of transparency which leads to a lack of trust that is problematic.
You'll notice I often write P.S. written by me, not AI, on some of my content. I do it because I don't want you to think I am using AI to write for me, unless I am.
I have created content for decades and have 100s of hours of recorded content. Might I use AI to summarize things I have said into working articles for me to edit? Yes, and when I do, I promise to share how I am using AI so you know.
Don't let these laws and changes make you fear AI. Instead, let them help you decide what level of transparency you expect and wish to offer to those who follow your work.
P.S. This was 100% written by me in case you were wondering ;-)