Does PR Industry need complete overhaul in the advent of AI?

At the first edition of the exchange4media PR Dialogue, the first debate discussion was around the topic, 'Does the PR Industry need complete overhaul in the advent of AI?', with Strategic communications consultant Anup Sharma serving as the session chair and moderator for the debate.

Speaking for the motion were Nitin Mantri, Group CEO, Avian WE; Nikhil Dey, Executive Director, Adfactors PR; and Runa Rajeev Kumar, Head Corporate Communication (RM & Jharkhand), Tata Steel. Meanwhile, against the motion were Ashwani Singla, Founding Managing Partner, Astrum; Vandana Sandhir, India Lead, Six Degrees BCW & Chief Client Strategy Officer, BCW India Group; and Aman Gupta, Managing Partner, Health Practice Asia, SPAG FINN Partner.

Sharma opened the debate by talking about the central role that technology had taken in our lives, from NASA scientists exploring the cosmos to the growth of cloud computing across enterprises here on earth, to the AI-powered assistants available at our fingerprints. He traced the evolution of data storage from the days of the floppy disk with its standard 1.44MB storage space to the unlimited terabytes available to us today.

“So the technology is there. The key question is whether we are adopting technology in the right manner. And currently, since we have a forum with mostly communication professionals, the topic is appropriately about whether the PR industry needs a complete overhaul in the face of this AI technology.”

Sharma then went on to introduce each member participating in the debate, giving a brief précis on their experience and expertise, and then explained the rules of engagement, before starting the debate.

Speaking first for the motion was Tata Steel’s Kumar, who began by pointing out that AI is not a new thing. “So let me go back to the history. I want to make things very simple. It's the buzzword; everybody is talking about it. We are very excited about AI being there, generative AI and stuff like that. But when we talk about AI, do you all know the first time when AI was used? Artificial Intelligence, as a term, was first used by the American computer engineer, John McCarthy, while he was developing a program. And since then there has been a lot of development in the front of AI. But we were not aware. In fact the GPS navigation system that you use is AI enabled. And since ChatGPT, we’ve been using the term daily.”

“Is it going to overhaul the entire PR industry? I would say yes. Why? Because there are multiple things that are happening on a daily basis and so you need to be aware of the progress that's happening in the AI world. So I think just the last point I would like to make here, that before I pass it on to my team members, is that this is not something new. And it is still evolving. There are a lot of developments happening.”

“If we don't adopt AI and experiment with AI, it is going to be time for us to either sink or swim. AI is all around us. The question of do we need to adopt it, is actually not one that we have the choice to even debate. We are living it. Some of us are aware of it; some aren't,” said Dey, before going on to demonstrate the powers of AI through a short presentation which he had made by his son, on instructions to AI.

“And imagine what we are missing if we don't use this technology in our business. So imagine what we are missing if we don't use this technology in our business. So on that note, I'll hand over to Nitin to build on the proposition as to why AI is imperative,” said Dey.

Continuing on the theme, Mantri said, “Honestly, there is no doubt that AI will soon touch every part of our life. I just want to go back a few years. I was at a similar kind of discussion and one of my responses there was that the traditional PR industry, the PR agency is dead. It doesn't exist anymore. That was fine. Today, I can tell you we are on the cusp of that same change where the way we run communications or PR has completely changed overall with the advent of AI.”

“Just a few weeks back, the launch of OpenAI chat GPT 4-o. We now have a chat GPT that listens, looks, talks, combines the capability of chat bots, image generators and voice assistants in one neat package. That is the speed at which AI continues to redefine possibilities,” said Mantri, adding, “The question for us is really clear. Are we ready to ride this AI wave? Are we ready to embrace it? In a survey, one of the questions we asked was how many people think that AI will change the way you work and the way your firm works? Only 5% said it will not change. 5%.That really shows how many people believe that change is inevitable and the power of AI to the way we work is inevitable.”

And then it was time for those against the motion to speak.

Sandhir said, “It's great to have a debate series like this. It takes us back to college, having a debate setting like this. It was a great kickoff by our colleagues on the right, and in some way, they've made the job a little easier for us. AI has been around, so I don't understand why they're making such a big deal of it. I think the public relations industry is very resilient to evolve instead of an overhaul and adapt itself

“I think the mettle of the professionals in this room and beyond is there to make sure that we're always making use of these technologies, including AI, to make us sharper, better. Public relations, by its very definition, is about relations, and that is face-to-face relations. No amount of technology can take that. So, it's on us to see how it is that we adapt and adopt and use technology to make these relationships stronger on the back of meaningful insights and data.But that can't be the driver. And my second point is that we live in a very complex world where there are regulatory, ethical nuances which no machine can get; it is us humans who will get it,” she asserted.

Taking up the mantle, Gupta said the first thing we need to understand is the topic. “When we look at the topic, it says, does the industry need a complete overhaul because of AI? And I think that in itself is the first point to say it does not need an overhaul in its totality. This industry does not need it. There's the people part of it, there's the process part of it, and there's the product part of it. And the core to this whole thing is the people part.”

“And that is what really drives the industry because while technology, not just AI, but technology in its totality, can make things efficient, it can throw things in front of you. How do you interpret what's coming from there is where human intervention is required. When you go and are engaging with any leadership at the client side, why is it not looking for what you have been able to build to generate from a technology? Because that might be something which everybody may have.”

"But how do you slice, dice, interpret, analyze, and bring it to the light in a big picture, which is where human intelligence comes in. Apart from that, and that's why we're coming from the council, but in a larger context, and I think all of us who are in this room, and in communication, including my colleagues here all the time, the success of the campaign is about how human-to-human relationships are. How are we able to really go through those relationships, really come out of the real conversations, which are able to make a difference, which is able to make people understand and bring in a behavior change that we are looking for.”

And then finally there was Singla. “The people speaking for the motion made three points, pointing to the history and the longevity of technology; the ease in which content will be created; and the pervasive impact of technology. I'd like to talk about all three of them. I will not go into the two very important points of information in defense of this motion.”

“Number one, 1400 was the first time Gutenberg created the printing press. What is public relations? Public relations is nothing but the science and art of communication to create a better understanding between two individuals, organizations, or public leadership. You can take those institutions to be governments, organizations, or just people. Communication remains at the heart of understanding and creating communication, or communication remains at the heart of creating understanding, or influence in any manner, or persuasion of any manner, in any power that you want to define public relations.”

“Therefore, if 1400 was the first time when the printing press was invented, then the telephone was invented, then the radio, then the television, and then the internet. All proponents of this fear-mongering of technology reshaping our lives is something that we have heard through centuries and centuries and centuries.”

“But human ingenuity has always come on top. Therefore, we must not forget the fact that humans have created technology and human ingenuity will continue to lead the other inventions. Therefore, creating this fear factor, or the FOMO, to say we will lose out in some aspect of our life because the next version of technology, which in my purpose is called GPT, whether it's with O, or I, or A, or any form of vowel that comes out in its outbreak, will only update and make us sharper, smarter, better.”

The debate was then thrown open for members of each side to speak out. You can catch all the action in the video accompanying this article.