Reading Between the (AI-Generated) Lines: A Halloween Reflection on Trust

Halloween is the season of masks. We expect a little deception, a little mystery, and even some jump scares. But lately, it feels like our professional feeds have taken on the same spirit all year round. Content looks convincing, but what is behind the mask? Is it human insight, or another auto-generated costume?

A recent analysis estimated that more than half of long-form posts on LinkedIn are now machine-written. That means when you scroll, you are wandering through a neighborhood where every house has its lights on, but you are not sure if anyone is home. Some posts are thoughtful. Others are hollow shells, polished on the outside but empty inside. And just like Halloween candy, you have to wonder: is this treat real, or just sugar without substance?

In my work with teams, I see a parallel in how people are using AI tools day to day. Developers submit flawless-looking code that compiles but fails in practice because the edge cases were never considered. Writers deliver documents that sound professional but carry no original thinking. Everything looks tidy on the surface, but when you peel back the wrapper, you sometimes find nothing of value inside.

This is not an argument against AI. It is an argument for skepticism. A good leader encourages their team to read between the lines, to ask what is hidden behind the mask, to test whether the content has weight or whether it just looks convincing in costume. Trust does not come from the polish of the output. It comes from knowing that someone has thought deeply about what is being shared.

So here is the Halloween reflection: AI will keep giving us costumes. Some will be useful, even delightful. But if we stop asking who is behind the mask, we risk mistaking the costume for the person. And in the long run, that erodes not just trust in content, but trust in each other.

Let’s carry this forward: treat every polished output like a pumpkin on the porch. It might hold a little candle, or it might be hollow. The only way to know is to look inside.