Ethics will continue to be the dominant differentiator in PR: Dr Mina Nazari

Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be incredibly useful but if it is used without complementing human awareness, it can be detrimental, said Dr Mina Nazari, the Executive Board Member of World Communication Forum Association (WCFA). Nazari was speaking on the topic ‘The Role of Artificial Intelligence’ at the 13th edition of the India Public Relations and Corporate Communications Conference (IPRCCC) conference on May 5.

AI continues to grow exponentially fuelled by rapid growth of technology. Moreover, the availability of smartphones has transformed communication skills, knowledge and understanding of individuals. In her keynote address, Nazari shed light on the impact of AI on public relations and highlighted the need to test out different approaches and look to the future. “We need humans to think creatively and abstractly about problems to devise new and innovative strategies, test out different approaches and look to the future. Parts of what we do - or in some cases entire tasks - are or will be automated and will benefit from Al”, Nazari said.

Nazari listed a few lessons for the future that public relations profession should make a note of. She said regardless of the tasks and skills that can be automated or benefitted from Al, human intervention in editing, sensitivity, emotional intelligence, applying good judgement and ethics will always be needed.

“We get a richer sense of Al impact when we consider, using the results of the CIPR State of the Profession (SOTP) 2018 survey of UK practitioners, that copy writing, strategic planning and social media relations are among the most common public relations activities. It is here, in terms of the daily lives of the broadest range of practitioners, that Al is likely to have most impact. “According to SOTP, which also assesses skill strengths and weaknesses, it is in the domain of social media relations that public relations need the most help from Al”, she further added.

Concluding her address, Nazari said, “We need to emphasise education, experiential learning and continuous development of these very human traits that are valued in our profession. Also, we need to become aware of Al and its potential pitfalls and quirks in our profession. Al is about to massively change our lives. The public relations profession needs to keep up. We need more experience with these tools and more critical reviews to learn how best to use them and their limitations”.

“We need to be vigilant in the ethical implications of using data, guard against privacy breaches and be mindful that our licence to operate comes with behaviours that place the public interest above organisation or client. Ethics will continue to be the dominant differentiator in the professional practice of public relations,” she asserted.