AI, EQ & Communication News — 2026-10-20 (Tue)

Overview

Only four headlines touched this beat in the past 48 hours: one on soft skills in advertising, two on AI-written language, and one on a conversation-practice platform. Coverage centered on who writes or speaks for a person, and on where human communication skills still matter.

Emotion-reading AI

No notable developments. 【AI empathy and emotional intelligence】 No notable developments. 【Human EQ and skills in the AI era】 - An article argues that soft skills matter in advertising in the AI era (Campaign Middle East). 【Changes in conversation and relationships】 No notable developments.

Words AI writes and speaks

- NFL player C.J. Gardner-Johnson was accused of using ChatGPT to write an apology after spitting at Brock Bowers (Diario AS). - The Economic Times asks "Should CEOs let AI write their emails?" and reports that Hachette chief David Shelley explains what leaders risk losing (The Economic Times).

Speaking practice and coaching

- Convrsy has emerged from stealth with an AI platform for strategy testing and high-stakes conversations (citybiz).

Research and studies

No notable developments. 【Japan's EQ, communication and AI】 No notable developments.

Statements from key figures

- David Shelley, chief of Hachette, discusses what leaders risk losing if they let AI write their emails (The Economic Times). The headline does not give his specific points. 【Integrated analysis: what is happening】 The headlines share one structure: the question is who authors a person's words in moments that carry personal weight. An apology and a CEO's email are both communication where the sender's own voice is the point. The apology case involves an accusation that AI wrote the message, and the CEO piece asks what leaders may lose by delegating. Together they suggest that AI-written text may be judged by audiences on authenticity, not just polish (inference).

The other two headlines point to the opposite response. The soft-skills piece frames human interpersonal skills as valuable in the AI era (Campaign Middle East). Convrsy's platform offers AI for rehearsing high-stakes conversations (citybiz). In that use, AI supports the person's own speaking instead of replacing it. For readers, the dividing line appears to be less whether AI is used than whether it drafts the message or helps the person prepare to deliver it (inference). The headlines do not show how widespread either use is, and the Gardner-Johnson item is an accusation, not a confirmed fact.

What to watch

- Whether more public apologies or executive messages draw accusations of AI authorship, and how the senders respond (inference). - Whether leaders such as Hachette's chief set out norms on AI-drafted communication, following the discussion in The Economic Times. - Whether practice tools like Convrsy's gain evidence of effect on conversational skill, since the headline gives none.