The Mushroom Cut Moment: When AI Takes Over Your Voice

I remember cutting my husband’s hair in the garden for the first time during COVID.

“Ha,” I thought, stepping back to admire the beautiful fade and neat lines. “This hairdressing thing is a breeze. Maybe I’ve found a new side hustle.”

Round two? Also great. I was basically a genius.

Then came round three. And oh lordy… it went wrong.

My poor husband ended up with a mushroom on his head.

And I realised why the first two cuts had worked – I’d been following his barber’s expert shape. The moment the guidelines disappeared, I was toast.

That’s exactly what happens with AI and writing.

AI can be great at editing something you’ve already written, or when you give it proper direction – a role, context, and clear rules about tone and format.

Or when you use it as a thinking partner to critique your work and bounce ideas around.

Then it’s following your shape. You’re still the human in the loop.

But if you’re too busy to write a decent prompt or you become the editor/fact-checker of AI’s work, then those guidelines disappear over time. You hand over the clippers, stop paying attention, and hope for the best.

Sometimes you get lucky. Sometimes you get a mushroom. And everyone can see it, even if they’re too polite to say so.

And unlike my husband’s hair in lockdown, your emails, decks and reports have a wide audience. They get forwarded. They shape opinions. They influence decisions. They subtly signal how much you’re thinking, leading and owning your work. How much you care about your reader.

So stay in control of your guidelines.

Do your thinking first. Decide what you actually mean. Write your rough version or at least some bullet points. Then invite AI in to sharpen, tidy and polish.

Otherwise you might be left explaining to your colleagues why your message suddenly has a fringe and unexpected sideburns…