The field of public relations is undergoing a major transformation within the digital age. Artificial intelligence (AI) has turn out to be a serious driver of this evolution, presenting recent opportunities and unprecedented challenges.
AI isn’t only a tool, but additionally it is sparking debate about its impact on the industry and communications professionals, including public relations (PR) experts. While some see AI as a threat to the PR occupation, others see it as a useful gizmo that may simplify the work of communications professionals.
Ismail Fahmi, founding father of Drone Emprit, believes that AI plays a key role in spreading public messages. However, the presence of AI doesn’t necessarily reduce the variety of jobs for humans, including in public relations.
“What we are losing with the advent of AI is not that we (humans) are being replaced by AI, but rather that we are being replaced by other humans who are using AI. Public relations will not be directly defeated by AI, but it will be overtaken by other PR professionals who are able to leverage AI technology,” says Ismail Fahmi.
Ismail adds that AI is currently creating algorithms that may regulate the knowledge that the general public receives. AI is superb at learning what the general public likes, which ends up in polarization between pro and con views on various issues.
A public relations practitioner must understand algorithms before using digital platforms to disseminate public information. Algorithms vary across digital platforms. According to Fahmi, algorithms are a key think about attracting online audiences.
Drone Emprit’s evaluation shows that prime levels of polarization online can change the perceptions of web users, turning disagreement into agreement or vice versa. That’s why the unreal intelligence behind digital algorithms is a brand new force for public relations practitioners.
Finky Santika, Head of Media and Digital at Taman Safari Indonesia Group, notes that AI has significantly modified the best way PR works. Her team is trying to use technology to attach more closely with the general public, including developing WhatsApp GPT as an information hub for Taman Safari visitors, replacing leaflets with maps and customer support.
Finky said GPT’s WhatsApp makes it easy for her to share information with visitors. Visitors can quickly and simply discover in regards to the locations and schedules of shows at Taman Safari.
Despite having this technology, Finky also uses her own methods to speak and promote Taman Safari products to the general public. She says constructing close relationships with guests through community engagement is vital, though public interactions have been significantly shaped by AI.
PR practitioners need to interact the community of their organization’s campaigns. Based on Finky’s experience, audiences can act as key opinion leaders that influence how digital algorithms work. In the context of Taman Safari, the more moments visitors share, the more useful algorithms might be created for the organization.
In turn, Djarot Handoko, vice chairman of campaign development at Perhumas and head of corporate communications at APR, emphasizes the importance of ethics amongst PR professionals, even after they use artificial intelligence of their work.
Djarot cites research by Professor David Tran of the National University of Singapore, which highlights that the center of the technological revolution lies within the copyright issues surrounding using AI. There is an ongoing debate about whether copyright needs to be granted to the human creator or the AI getting used.
In response to this problem, Djarot emphasizes the importance of the human touch, even when PR practitioners use AI. AI is predicted to extend productivity, not reduce the natural efficiency of humans at work. Djarot calls on PR practitioners to take care of their identity amid AI dominance.
“Be careful when using AI; there still needs to be a human element. We cannot just follow AI; we’ve got to maintain our identity,” Djarot says.
Good News From Indonesia (GNFI) partnered with the Indonesian Public Relations Association (Perhumas) to debate this issue at a seminar titled “PR vs Digital Algorithms” at Pingoo Restaurant in West Jakarta, on Tuesday (July 30, 2024).
“We hope that the collaboration between GNFI and Perhumas will benefit practitioners, researchers and students by enabling them to directly discuss the challenges in communication, especially in public relations, in the face of dynamic changes in the social and technological fields,” said Boy Kelana Soebroto, Chairman of Perhumas, in his opening speech.
In line with this, GNFI CEO Wahyu Aji noted that communication isn’t only essential for communication practitioners or PR specialists. He emphasized that the content and impact of communication are crucial to the general public interest usually, and subsequently everyone needs to be concerned about this issue.
