This tech CEO said he wants the 'D+ version' of employee ideas. Read his AI writing memo.
Spellbook CEO Scott Stevenson is discouraging employees from using AI to polish their work, preferring raw, 'D+' versions of ideas to ensure authentic thinking. He argues that AI-generated prose can mask poor reasoning and create unnecessary work for colleagues.
Why it matters
This highlights a growing trend in corporate culture where leaders are pushing back against 'AI slop' to prioritize human critical thinking over automated efficiency.
Spellbook CEO Scott Stevenson wants to see the "D+ version" of employees' ideas before they turn to AI. Alex Broadway/Web Summit via Sportsfile via Getty Images Spellbook's CEO says AI can make employees' ideas look more polished than their thinking. The AI company's new policy limits how workers can use AI to write project proposals. Stevenson would rather see a few rough bullets: "I want the D+ version of your plan." Scott Stevenson doesn't want every employee's idea to get an AI glow-up. The cofounder and CEO of Spellbook said workers' proposals containing "AI nonsense" routinely make it to his desk. It might be a project plan or a marketing pitch. Whatever it is, he said, it can arrive looking far more polished than the thinking behind it. Stevenson said he would rather see the rough version first. "I want the D+ version of your plan," he said.
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