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In a world that is increasingly wary of artificial intelligence (AI), this book explores the pressing need for strategic communicators to move away from being advocates for AI and move towards a more critical activist role that enables them to counter AI-driven threats to communities and relationships.
AI is contributing to inequality, misinformation and environmental damage, among other problems. This book argues that strategic communicators are uniquely placed to help counter AI-driven challenges because of their skills in relationship-building and their ability to craft and deliver messages effectively. By discussing the different professional activist approaches that communicators can take in relation to growing AI challenges, the book offers multiple perspectives that will help to build knowledge in diverse settings and develop practice, especially in community and activist strategic communication.
Research-based and combining theory with practice, this thought-provoking book will be welcomed by strategic communication scholars and practitioners alike eager to develop a critical approach to the challenges surrounding AI.
List of contents
1 Introduction
The Nature of AI
Critical Insights in the Existing Scholarship
Other Insights in the Existing Scholarship
Significance, Research Approach, and Scope
Outline of the Book
Summary
2 Advocating for AI-Driven Threats
Threats to Communities and Relationships
Profession-Related Problems
The Tech Giants, Government and Democracy
Conclusion
Summary
3 From Advocates to Activists
The Broader Need for Activism in Practice
Embracing Activism
Urgently Developing Guardrails
Conclusion
Summary
4 Theory and Practice to Support Activism
Strategic Communicators' Suitability for Critical AI Activism
Theory to Support Activism
Practice to Support Activism
Additional Considerations for Strategic Communicator-Activists
Conclusion
Summary
5 Beyond Reactive Ethics
Unpredictable Contexts for Ethical Questions
Ethics and Regulatory Interventions
Trust Issues and AI
Novel Collaborations to Address Challenges
Conclusion
Summary
6 Conclusion
Forces Pushing Against Critical AI Activism
Implications for Policymakers and Organisational Leaders
Future Research Directions
Summary
About the author
Lukasz Swiatek lectures in the School of the Arts and Media at the University of New South Wales in Sydney (Australia). He mainly undertakes research in communication and media studies, higher education, and cultural studies.
Marina Vujnovic is a professor in the Department of Communication at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey (in the United States). Her work explores intersections between journalism and public relations, looking at issues of participation, activism, transparency, and ethics.
Chris Galloway teaches public relations on the Auckland (Aotearoa New Zealand) campus of Massey University. His research encompasses crisis communication, reputation management, and AI applications and their impacts.
Dean Kruckeberg (APR, Fellow PRSA) is a professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (in the United States). He is the author and co-author of many books, book chapters and articles about public relations, focusing on ethics and global public relations.
Summary
This book explores the pressing need for strategic communicators to move from their present, often "cheerleader" role supporting its growth, towards a more critical approach, and develop a role that enables them to counter AI-driven threats to communities and relationships.
