Ethics in the Age of AI

The fundamentals of ethical communications haven’t changed. The circumstances in which we’re being asked to apply them certainly have.

Artificial intelligence is accelerating that shift, presenting communications professionals with questions about accuracy, transparency, privacy, copyright and accountability. And as organizations move quickly to adopt new tools, communicators are increasingly being asked to help determine not only what technology can do, but what it should do.

That makes PRSA’s annual recognition of Ethics Month each September especially timely. Throughout the month, you’ll find programming, resources and conversations designed to help practitioners recognize and navigate ethical challenges in their work.

In this issue, Marlene S. Neill, Ph.D., APR, Fellow PRSA, a member of PRSA’s Board of Ethics & Professional Standards, examines new research into the ethical risks surrounding AI adoption — and the skills communicators need to navigate them.

The BEPS and Baylor University research identified critical thinking, ethical judgment and AI literacy among the essential competencies practitioners will need. As Neill writes, communicators must provide the “why” behind messaging and serve as an ethical conscience in determining how AI-generated information is used.

That unease is growing more broadly. A new Pew Research Center survey found that 52% of Americans are now more concerned than excited about AI, up from 37% in 2021. Among adults under 30, that figure has reached 55% — a majority for the first time.

That tension between adoption and trust extends well beyond AI. Audiences today have more information, more sources and more ways to scrutinize organizations than ever before. They can also quickly challenge claims, question motives and share their experiences with others.

For communicators, that makes trust both more valuable and more fragile.

We can’t simply communicate our way into being trusted. Trust is built when what an organization says aligns with what it does — and when communicators are willing to ask difficult questions, recognize potential ethical problems and counsel against actions that could undermine credibility.

New technologies will continue to change how quickly we work, the tools we use and even how audiences interact with organizations. The next platform or technological breakthrough will bring another set of questions we haven’t considered yet.

But earning trust will still depend on the principles that have always mattered: accuracy, transparency, accountability and sound ethical judgment.

Those don’t change with the technology.

Ethics Month: Learn More

Throughout September, PRSA will offer resources, programming and practical insights to help communications professionals navigate ethical challenges and strengthen ethical decision-making.

Visit prsa.org/ethics and follow PRSA’s social media channels for the latest Ethics Month updates and resources.

And join us Sept. 24 at 1 p.m. ET for a special Ethics Month edition of Strategies & Tactics Live on LinkedIn. Members of PRSA’s Board of Ethics & Professional Standards (BEPS) will discuss some of the ethical issues facing communicators today and offer practical guidance for navigating the increasingly complex decisions that come with the job.