PR Series
In this episode of the PR series, I interview Cayce Myers, a lawyer and professor of Public Relations and director of graduate studies at the School of Communications at Virginia Tech. His focus is on media history, political communication and laws that affect public relations practice. Today’s episode focuses on AI’s place in PR, the ethics of AI, regulations surrounding it, what practitioners should and shouldn't do, as well as considerations to make before adding it. With Myers' background in PR history, politics, and the law, we also discuss what we can learn from PR history, shifts occurring in social media due to AI, and more.
Some top tips …
AI is a disruptive technology force as was social media and the internet. It will change the field of communications, but he doesn’t think it will replace it. Learning from the past, technological innovations have been absorbed into public relations and now we think of it as indispensable.
Generative AI, like Chat GPT, can be used to enhance work quality, cut costs, and improve workflow but requires oversight by a human who reviews, edits, and fact checks the work product. There is a lot of discussion right now in the PR field about how to become a sophisticated user of generative AI and train others to become sophisticated and responsible users of AI.
Additionally, generative AI users in PR need to remember that in order to stand out in the marketplace, you can’t just spit out what generative AI gives you because you won’t be a thought leader until you use what you’re given and say something unique about it. To build any career, you need to offer a unique perspective, not the status quo that would be generated by AI like Chat GPT.
Government regulation of AI is an ongoing discussion and should be followed. The current regulatory issues are privacy, discrimination, and intellectual property. For public relations purposes, copyrights of intellectual property won’t be enforced if the content is produced more by AI than by a human.
There is a need to be transparent with clients about what's creating content, or you need to figure out what to say. Lastly, you need to have due diligence.
User’s should never take what’s generated as absolute truth. Don’t wait for regulations. It’s going to be harder and harder, but fact check.
This episode at glance …
>> [3:52 to 7:41] How companies today can learn from PR's past
>> [17:07 to 21:04] What PR pros should be aware of regarding government regulation of AI that would impact PR and the way companies communicate with their audiences
>> [21:05 to 26:09] Questions to consider before adding it into your PR processes
>> [26:10 to 31:02] How to watch for bias in the research and content created by AI
>> [31:30 to 34:05] How to stay on top of AI trends impacting the way you work
>> [34:06 to 39:19] How social media is changing the way multiple generations consume news and how journalists find stories and report the news
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Ways to reach Cayce Myers & Christie Bilbrey
Cayce Myers’ Twitter: https://twitter.com/caycemyers
Cayce Myers’ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cayce-myers-ph-d-ll-m-j-d-apr-a7252734/
Christie Bilbrey’s Instagram: https://instagram.com/christiebilbrey
Christie Bilbrey’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christiebilbrey/
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