🚀 PR Futurist #99 🎓 Stanford professor's fake AI court evidence 🎗️ Research on AI's impact on reputation 6 January 2025

Welcome

Happy New Year

We're all looking forward to seeing what 2025 will bring. In our New Year issue of PR Futurist we've got news about the World Communication Forum in Davos and new awards for independent PR practitioners.

There's also lots of AI news from the AI minister explaining her ambitions for how the UK can benefit from AI to consultation on copyright law to modernise it for the AI age and a consultation on how NHS communicators should be using AI.

We've also got case studies and examples of AI in the wild from a US school using AI to replace teachers, to MPs using it support their work and a council expanding its use of Microsoft 365 Copilot.

There's also a fascinating report on how AI influences reputation. It's something we've been working on since the launch of ChatGPT two years ago, but most of the PR industry still hasn't considered properly. The new research is more evidence they should.

And finally there is a story about a Stanford University professor who didn't check the output of his AI and provided fake citation as evidence in a court case. Read the story to find the ironic twist to the tale.

Image created by asking ChatGPT to create an image based on themes in this issue of PR Futurist.

Audio overview of this issue

You can listen to an audio overview of this issue. It was created using Google NotebookLM.

News

Will you be at the World Communication Forum in Davos?

The World Communication Forum in Davos will bring together senior leaders and thinkers in public relations and communications to explore how strategic public relations can drive policy changes, enhance public awareness, and address pressing issues such as climate change, political stability, and social justice.

It is in the Davos Congress Centre, which is usually the home to the World Economic Forum, and runs from 9-11 April.

I sit on the global Executive Committee of the World Communication Forum Association and we're currently working on finalising a stellar line-up of speakers, participants, sponsors and partners. Get in touch if you'd like to find out more about participating, or book your passes here.

Stuart Bruce

Do you know someone who should enter the Independent Impact 50 Awards?

Do you know or work with an amazing independent public relations practitioner? If you do, or if that's you, then the deadline for entering the Independent Impact 50 is midnight this Friday 10th January.

It's the first awards scheme dedicated entirely to celebrating excellence in public relations to find outstanding independent PR practitioners. Unlike traditional awards it isn't a winner takes all, but a list of 50 outstanding practitioners.

It's overdue that the industry recognises the importance of independent practitioners. This is their opportunity to stand up and be counted.

Rod Cartwright, co-founder of the awards and chair of the judging panel, has provided an important reminder of the aim of the awards:

👍To showcase excellence, not seek perfection

🎨To celebrate a whole constellation of stars, not pick a single 'winner'

❤️ To acknowledge industry generosity and commitment, not purely campaign success

Research by Wadds Inc indicates that the estimated value of the UK public relations independent practitioner market could be as high as £457 million. This exceeds the combined income of the UK's top five agencies: Brunswick, Weber Shandwick, Edelman, Teneo and FTI Consulting.

I'm one of the judges of the Independent Impact 50 and look forward to seeing the entries. The awards are sponsored by 72Point, which is a client.

Stuart Bruce

AI, digital and social

UK AI minister explains how she wants government to exploit emerging AI technology

The UK government is exploring how to effectively exploit artificial intelligence to transform public services and create a competitive advantage for the UK economy.. The initiative is led by Feryal Clark MP, Minister for AI and Digital Government, who said: "The potential to transform public services is huge. So, I’m one of the most popular ministers among my colleagues who want me to support them with how we use AI to transform their services."

The article outlines some of the areas that are being explored. One of the pilot projects is a tool called Redbox, an exploratory attempt to introduce generative AI to the civil service that helps staff deal with a wealth of information-heavy processes on a day-to-day basis.

We are already working with commercial tools that provide similar functions to Redbox and enable users to chat with corporate documents and generate summaries safely and effectively.

Stuart Bruce

Stanford professor paid $600 an hour used AI to create innacurate evidence for court filing

A Stanford professor who was paid $600 an hour as an expert witness has admitted to using ChatGPT to create his evidence submission for a court case. The court filing included fake citations. The irony is that the professor is meant to be an expert on 'lying and technology' and was providing evidence for a Minnesota court case over the state’s new ban on political deepfakes.

I've seen this story shared as an example of the perils of AI when in fact it's about the perils of people. An expert using AI to help do work better or faster is absolutely how AI should be used. This wasn't an AI failure but human error. The professor failed to follow the fundamental rule of always checking the output of AI.

Stuart Bruce

UK government consultation on copyright and artificial intelligence

The UK government has launched a consultation on reform of copyright law and how it relates to the training of AI models. The government aims to take a balanced approach which supports rights holders' control of their content and ability to be remunerated with the need to support the development of world-leading AI models in the UK.

The deadline for submissions is 25 February. Watch this space for news of an event we're running with a partner to bring together an expert panel to discuss what the PR and communications profession's response should be. If you're interested in participating in the panel then let me know ASAP.

Stuart Bruce

NHS consultation on the use of AI within NHS communications

An NHS taskforce looking at the use of AI in communications has published an enagement paper to get feedback from communications professionals working in the NHS. The paper outlines proposals for implementing AI tools across all NHS communications channels.

The taskforce and enagementment paper are meant to be looking at how NHS communications profressionals can take advantage of the opportunities offered by AI, while mitigating the risks.

Stuart Bruce

How algorithmic tools are used in UK public sector organisations

The UK government has published a register of 'how algorithmic tools are used in public organisations' which is in accordance wth the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard.

Although as only 23 are listed it's likely they are many more that aren't revealed.

Examples that are listed include:

Network Rail: Digital Assistant Chatbot to filter and resolve public enquiries and where necessary, hand-off to a live advisor for further review.

Oak National Academy: Aila (Oak's AI Lesson Assistant) AI lesson assistant for UK teachers to create personalised lesson resources for their classes, with the aim of reducing teacher workload.

Ministry of Defence: Textio An AI-powered writing assistant tool that enhances job adverts by analysing and optimising language for inclusivity, engagement and effectiveness.

Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: Consular Digital Triage - Written Enquiries LLM A tool for suggesting relevant guidance and services for British nationals abroad.

Disclaimer: We provide AI consultancy for communications and corporate affairs to Network Rail.

Stuart Bruce

AI tools could manipulate people’s online decision-making

An alarmist headline for an article that doesn't actually contain anything surprising. Researchers 'reveal' AI could be used to create an ‘intention economy’ where companies bid for accurate predictions of human behaviour. An alternative interpretation is that companies, and other organisations, already do this and AI could simply make the predictions more accurate.

Stuart Bruce

Will Bluesky succeed in replacing XTwitter as the Westminster conversation platform?

I was an early adopter on Bluesky, joining when it was invite only and just 80,000 users. I was a fan from the start, but it took a long time for Bluesky to start to become mainstream.

During the summer it started to take off in the UK and then enjoyed explosive growth after the election of Donald Trump. X owner Elon Musk's continued interventions into UK politics are driving more UK politicians, journalists, academics and experts to join Bluesky.

PoliticsHome looks at how the UK political establishment is starting to embrace Bluesky.

Think of Bluesky as The Economist of the social media world.

You can connect with me on Bluesky at stuartbruce.biz and Purposeful Relations at purposefulrelations.com. You can see from the links that one of the advantages of Bluesky is you can verfiy your accounts by connecting them to your domain. This means you could have @firstname.secondname.purposefulrelations.com handles for employees and colleagues.

Stuart Bruce

Case studies

US school ditches teachers for AI lessons

A school in Arizona is trialing a new education model using AI and a two-hour school day. The trial for students 9-14 years old will provide two-hours of personalised AI tuition. They will study science, maths and literature and the adaptive AI learning will adapt the tuition's style and difficulty to help individual students succeed. This might mean slowing down and spending more time on subjects they find challenging or making other parts more advanced if they are doing well.

The rest of the day still has real humans, but instead of teachers the day is filled with hands-on workshops in areas like financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and public speaking. Students are guided by mentors who lead these sessions and help develop practical skills that aim to go beyond the classroom.

Stuart Bruce

Buckinghamshire council to expand use of Microsoft Copilot after year of trials

Some of the strongest examples of the benefits of AI are from cash-strapped local councils in the UK. Many councils have suffered devastating budget cuts of up to 50% over the last 14 years. They can't afford to invest in anything unless they know it's going to be worth it.

Buckinghamshire County Council, the UK’s fifth biggest council, is the latest to increase its investment in Microsoft Copilot. It says its 12-month trial provides evidence that staff could be saving up to 90 minutes a day just on routine tasks.

Peter Parfitt, head of digital at the council points out that Copilot is already saving two or three hours a week on relatively low-level tasks, but the potential for more specialist tasks offers even more opportunity for transformational change.

Parfitt says: "I think AI is going to become more important going forward - that most employees would expect you to have access to some form of generative AI. An ability to do that, I think is going to be quite useful, not only for attracting but also for retention, because when we give people access to the tool, they seem to like it.”

Stuart Bruce

How Westminster MPs are considering using AI

It takes time for the government to adopt AI for public services, but some MPs are already getting on board and exploring how they can use AI to help with their work. Parliament's digital services department is looking at a a cost-benefit analysis of Microsoft CoPilot.

Former shadow science minister Chi Onwurah is quoted explaining potential use of AI by MPs to help with casework and when considering legislation.

Stuart Bruce

Research and reports

New research on reputation in the age of AI

Since shortly after the launch of ChatGPT I've been thinking and talking about how AI will influence reputations. It's a huge issue that most of the PR industry still hasn't grasped. That's why I found this new research by PR agency Hard Numbers so interesting. It looks at how large language models (LLMs) influence perceptions of quality, trust, innovation, and value in brand communications.

The research reveals that traditional media significantly influences AI-generated content about brand reputation, with editorial media driving 61% of responses. Perhaps surprisingly LLMs show a high-level trust in owned media, often accepting corporate claims without scepticism.

It provides more evidence why corporate communications urgently need to start treating LLMs as stakeholders. This is something we, and experts like Rupert Younger at Oxford Said Business School, have been recommending for some time.

If you want to know more about how you can do this then set-up a free consultancy call to find out how we can help.

Stuart Bruce

CommTech tools

Now easier to buy Microsoft 365 Copilot for small and medium-sized businesses

Microsoft has removed one of the big barriers to small and medium sized businesses investing in AI by buying Microsoft 365 Copilot. It's now possible to subscribe and pay monthly. Previously the annual subscription was paid up front, which many small businesses found challenging on cash flow.

There are now lots of case studies providing evidence that Copilot can save at least two to four hours per week on simple low-level tasks. This means it's easy for small businesses to see a return on investment, before they even start looking at how to use Copilot in more advanced ways.

However, to get the full transformational benefit of AI it's essential that companies also put plans, policies, and training in place. There are also case studies about companies that didn't and found that AI didn't help and sometimes even hindered.

Stuart Bruce