Don’t lose your voice in the AI onslaught

A voice. Most of us value having one - and being able to use it. It is connected deeply, powerfully, to our identity and, like a fingerprint, it’s a sign of our uniqueness.

Unlike a fingerprint, however, our voice can change over time. It can progress, mature, change position, show vulnerability, connect with others in different communities and fight for causes close to our hearts.

But, in this busy, tech-focused world, remaining agile and able to adapt arguments and positions in line with copious amounts of incoming information depends on your level of commitment to one thing – authenticity.

For some, the word authentic may even be a bit ‘cringe’. A bit navel gazing. A bit myopic. But at its roots, the journey to be authentic is one of discovery. It is based on developing a connection with the world, to understand who you really are and then behave accordingly. 

This is important when it comes to understanding how PR really works – and crucially how AI can affect communication output and relationship development.

People often look at communication and public relations in two ways:

1.     Being creative, positive and fluffy; ‘doing’ press releases; telling people ‘good stuff’ to promote ‘things’

2.     Misdirecting and creating ‘spin – being Machiavellian – and covering up ‘bad stuff’ in a crisis

But for any business on a growth journey, committing to well-thought-through communication is:

1.     Critical to ensuring you’re being authentic, that your comms thinks and feels its way through important moments and problems to produce a viewpoint the resonates, is meaningful

2.     Essential to understanding where you are in relation to the most important people and issues that affect your future and that of your customers/service users - and being able to map out the future

So, what does this have to do with AI?

As any communication specialist will tell you, generative AI is basically what comms folk have been doing for years. It is undoubtedly quicker at pulling research and thinking together as well as aggregate view-finding. It is also mind-blowingly brilliant at coming up with ‘good starts’ in terms of idea generation.

But it is, by its very nature, a formulaic average.

It is not what you think, it is what a technology thinks you think. And that technology has been fed by systems of communication that are biased in themselves.

The messy business of being human and working in any organisation cannot be understood through the lens of AI alone because, in itself, it can never truly understand you or collaborate creatively to learn about you.

Your actual experience of life is not linear (no matter how many apps you have to keep it on track). Even ChatGPT, that most famous of prompt-based AI platforms, advises the following:

When utilizing generative AI in PR, it's essential to balance automation with human oversight. AI can significantly streamline processes, but human input is crucial for ensuring authenticity, maintaining brand voice, and interpreting nuanced situations that AI might not fully comprehend.

And taking this a step further, when it comes to being authentic and having your own voice or creating the personal touch, there are significant issues in using AI as a save-all.

The main concerns around using AI in PR:

1. Misinterpretation or Bias: AI might misinterpret context, leading to inaccurate responses or inappropriate messaging

2. Lack of Emotional Intelligence: AI struggles to recognise or appropriately respond to emotions conveyed in communications, impacting empathy and rapport

3. Reduced creativity: Relying solely on AI-generated content limits creative aspects of

4. Ethical Dilemmas: AI is not able to make morally-nuanced decisions, especially in sensitive or ambiguous situations

5. Long term impact: most worryingly, if you are interested in free will and transparent conversation, is that overuse of AI is set to impact human cognition and decision making

What AI is GREAT for in PR:

1. Creating engaging headlines: a difficult job for even experienced comms folk

2. Generating cumulative ideas for blogs/speeches: helping you understand generalist positions quickly, so you can form your own

3. Planning: it’s quite handy for coming up with important dates and ways to harness them

4. Identifying trends: although ChatGPT has not updated since 2021, you can still get a bit of a steer especially if looking at historical trends

5. Media monitoring: if you have the cash, some AI can really help you analyse media trends and sentiment to allow for message tailoring. (This is also good to understand audience behaviour)

6. Scenario planning for crisis comms: AI simulations can predict potential crises and prepare response strategies in advance

7. Translation: if you need to translate content into various languages, it helps pick up cultural issues and sensitivities

There are other, potentially more serious, areas to consider when using AI in PR, around data breaches and regulatory issues for example. And, AI of course will continue to impact business providing ongoing concerns about how humans and technology meet and merge – and how that might affect our future understanding of ‘what is true’.

For now do your best not to lose your voice in the rush to create content - and in the process end up sounding like everyone who has gone before.

We can help you find your special sauce! Get in touch sarah@ricepr.co.uk