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REDEFINING INFLUENCE: LEVERAGING AI AS A STRATEGIC COMMS ASSET

When you are a corporate affairs professional, the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is as discomforting as it is exciting. On the one hand, you have a technology capable of creating and spreading large quantities of damaging disinformation with just a few quick clicks. On the other, you have a tool that might be smarter than you, will do the menial work, and never gets tired. The risks and opportunities seem to walk in lockstep, as they so regularly do.  

How then, when it is your primary responsibility to mitigate the impact of potential risk, do you lead an opportunistic approach to AI?  

As a leading voice on the intersection between corporate reputation and technology, Meltwater, supported by Connect Media, hosted an executive roundtable to explore the discourse behind this question. Following the energy of day one of the Corporate Affairs Summit in Sydney, the conversation was led by John Galligan, Head of Corporate External and Legal Affairs at Microsoft ANZ, and Georgina Bitcon, Strategic Accounts Director, APAC at Meltwater. This article reflects a snapshot into the insights shared on the night.   

Insights

How good are we at jumping on a fast-moving train?

It is easy to forget how recently AI became a hot-topic conversation. To put it into perspective, ChatGPT has been on the market for less time than the current government has been in power (at the time of writing). Its trajectory has been extraordinary, and while many are conversing around it, few organisations have fully committed to strategically implementing the tech company-wide. ‘As a nation, Australia has taken a more cautious and measured approach to AI, but I think we have seized the moment in many ways and are ahead of other comparative countries as a result’ John Galligan shared during his presentation.   

As industry leaders are well aware, innovation and growth are pipelines that simply don’t stop. And much like during social media’s prolific rise, first movers on AI will quickly find themselves as industry leaders, among both colleagues and customers alike. For many organisations, balancing this pursuit of opportunistic advantage against the risks of the unknown will be the critical challenge.  

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How do you manage something that is both the problem and solution?

The rise of disinformation perpetuated by AI represents a significant threat in today’s digital landscape. Its relative infancy has made the generative technology prone to hallucinations and appear as ‘a beautiful liar’, as eloquently put by John Galligan. The sheer speed at which it can produce content is highly compelling, yet its paragraphs are so often littered with inaccuracies and strange phrasing.   

This speed is what Corporate Affairs professionals need to be ready for. An MIT study found that misinformation travels 3x faster than true information, with people being 70% more likely to share false information on X than true stories. As such, leaders need to be approaching AI produced misinformation with a crisis readiness lens.   

As a base, AI-risk strategies should embody three core competencies:  

  1. Awareness: It is critical that our teams know the exponential and ongoing potential of AI and what that can look like across business contexts. 
  2. Education: Our workforces then need to have the skills to look beyond face value and adopt a healthy amount of critical thinking and scepticism. It is the responsibility of the organisations to ensure their people are empowered to do so.  
  3. Readiness: While human interception is important, crisis readiness using AI as a detection mechanism will be your strongest line of defence. As emphasised by Georgina Bitconduring her keynote earlier in the day, “The thing that is going to create the proliferation of disinformation, could also be the one thing that actually identifies it”.

  

Each of these competencies are stronger when working together and should evolve alongside the progressive nature of the AI. From the outset, it is important to recognise the significant role human vigilance plays in crisis management and how organisations can best support their people to develop those detection muscles.   

How important is culture to a tech evolution?

As with most change, culture sits at the heart of its success. When it comes to AI and its injection into operations, setting its cultural tone is arguably the most important place to start.  

Our roundtable attendees emphasised the importance of creating environments where curiosity and experimentation can bloom. While this will take on different shapes across industries, finding pockets where AI feels personally relevant and useful will encourage teams to not only adopt a learning mindset, but pursue spaces for better productivity.  

What role do larger corporations play in shaping where responsibility for AI lies?

While governments do play a significant role in shaping the responsible use of AI, standardised regulations are still evolving and emerging. During this transformative period, the organisations creating and implementing AI will be heavily relied upon. Stakeholders will be looking towards the larger corporates for a roadmap that accounts for both the short-term implications and a strategy for the long-game ahead.   

 Throughout the journey, corporate affairs teams will be instrumental in aligning company initiatives with global trends and expectations, ensuring organisations remain relevant and reputable. It is important for corporate affairs leaders to remain cognisant of the convening power they wield in shaping a responsible AI future.  

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Conclusion

As AI continues to find its place across the working landscape, the corporate affairs function will be pivotal to shaping both the internal culture and responsibility surrounding AI use. Despite the ongoing push and pull of opportunity and risk, one sentiment continues to resonate through the discourse– we all need to learn more about it. We need to hone our fluency and skill, fostering learning cultures while we map out how AI is going to impact not only our day-to-day, but our future of work.  

Meltwater is excited to continue facilitating these critical conversations, supporting comms leaders to make the most of our ever-evolving tech landscape.  

 

Written by Imogen Smith, Content Manager, Connect Media 

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A media entrepreneur with over 20 years’ experience in B2B communications and events, Dominic has led Connect Media to be twice recognised as a BRW Fast Starter, a BRW Fast 100 Company, and a SmartCompanySmart50.

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He has a Bachelor of Arts in Management (Economics) from the University of Westminster in London, certificates from AFTRS, NIDA and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

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