Public relations advisers in Ireland have been issued with their first set of industrywide guidelines on the “effective and ethical” use of artificial intelligence (AI) as part of their work.
The Public Relations Institute of Ireland (PRII) has released the guidelines to members to help PR practitioners integrate an ever-increasing array of AI tools into their profession in a responsible manner, it said. The guidelines are grounded in the European Code of Professional Conduct in Public Relations as well as the industry’s International Code of Ethics.
“At the heart of our advice to members is to exercise caution in the use of AI. We must stay vigilant and follow these standards, ensuring the integrity of our work while taking full advantage of the opportunities AI offers in various sectors,” said PRII president David Geary.
“We must maintain high standards in our use of AI and use these guidelines to facilitate important internal conversations within organisations of all sizes and across sectors.”
The first of the 10 guidelines advises PR practitioners of the need to “maintain human oversight” and always review any AI-generated content for accuracy, relevance and potential bias.
The representative body also recommends disclosing when content has been created using generative AI tools. The technical robustness and safety of these tools should be tested before they are adopted, it says.
The PRII advises that members stay up to date with emerging ethical concerns and industry standards and invest time in doing so, given the fast-evolving nature of developments in AI. It also urges compliance with relevant data protection and privacy regulations.
AI should be used to “enhance human efforts”, one guideline suggests, “rather than diminish the value of human experience, nuance and insight”. This means using AI tools for tasks that are “repetitive, time or data-intensive” to free up more time for creative and analytical work.
“Understand that AI-generated content is not solely your creation. Credit should be given where due and the use of AI should not infringe on others’ intellectual property rights,” another recommendation states.
“Copyright law differs from jurisdiction to jurisdiction but the internet has no borders so this will be a contested area for some time to come. That said, the right and ethical thing to do does not have to be enshrined in law.”
‘A matter of days’ from insolvency: How an Irish company came back from the brink
The guidelines also warn that as AI can produce information at a speed, scale and quality “never seen”, it can also reproduce misinformation and disinformation just as quickly and extensively, pointing to a need to develop crisis communication plans that tackle any AI-related misinformation and disinformation about their organisations or clients.
“Individuals, groups, state actors [and] companies can find their reputation threatened by other individuals, groups, state actors, companies and criminals. So, not only do professional communicators need to know how to use these tools to work efficiently and effectively, they also need to know about these tools so they can advise and safeguard their organisations and clients of the threats that exist and put in place crisis/issues communications plans to respond,” it advises.
The guidelines were reviewed by the PRII’s working group on artificial intelligence in public relations before being distributed to the body’s 1,200 members, who work for PR agencies or in-house for organisations across all sectors of the economy.
“AI offers transformative opportunities for the communications sector and, like all major transformations, it also presents significant practical and ethical challenges,” said PRII chief executive Martina Byrne.
“We are committed to supporting our members as they integrate AI into their work. These guidelines provide a clear framework to ensure that AI is used ethically and effectively, yet innovatively and creatively,” said Dr Byrne.
- Sign up for Business push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Our Inside Business podcast is published weekly – Find the latest episode here
