“If it can be done, it will be done:” AI Ethical Standards and a dual role for public relations

Abstract

This research reports a five-year study with different types of participants to examine questions related to ethics in artificial intelligence (AI) and the use of AI in public relations and professional communication. AI specialists from computer engineering and closely related fields, as well as CCOs, communication directors/managers, public affairs officers, and CEOs participated in this research, explaining and assessing the role of ethics in AI. Through numerous points of data collection, the topic of AI ethics in public relations was examined through a mixed method approach. This study offers insight into the ethics and design of AI systems that communication professionals must not only use in practice but also understand, advise upon, ethically oversee, and occasionally defend in the public sphere when used (or commissioned) by our organizations. After a review of broad literature and longitudinal data from hundreds of sources, recommendations for a more robust framework for AI ethics in public relations are proposed. Ethical considerations and quantum and neuromorphic computing are posed as means to avoid technocracy, and base use of these advanced systems on moral values.