AI Ethics for Advertising Professionals: 10 Rules of Engagement

AI has not come to work. It’s already here. Many of us already use tools that have AI built inside, and both Google and Microsoft recently announced AI versions of their search engines. It’s the power of AI for people, no special training required.

AI offers great potential in advertising, especially in email writing, surveys, comp writing, social copy writing, and HR functions like hiring, reviews, and more.

Proponents will say AI in the workplace will handle routine tasks, connect with other humans, be creative, and help you relax. Detractors remind us that AI can amplify bias, expand surveillance, threaten jobs, and cause many other problems.

Both groups are correct. AI is a tool, and what happens next depends on how you use it. Unfortunately, the regulatory environment has not kept up with the pace of technology.this almost lets it we Choose how to use AI. In my role in brand strategy at a creative agency, I’ve already seen people debating these choices: Can ChatGPT be used to write peer reviews? AI mockups for presentations What about the generation of

There is an urgent need to define etiquette around AI in the workplace. AI regulations and codes of ethics for engineers are dense, but lack simple, accessible guidelines for white-collar professionals who are readily adopting these tools. We would like to propose the following guidelines for the use of AI in the workplace.

10 rules for advertising professionals using AI at work

1. Disclose your use of AI

Litmus paper for whether should do it Whether or not you use AI for something is whether or not you allow it. If it’s OK (“Generated report statistics”), it’s a better use case. If you’re going to be embarrassed (“Hey mentees, your performance review was written by his ChatGPT”), it shows that it’s not embarrassing. Different people have different tolerances, but being transparent allows us to have an open conversation about what is acceptable.

2. Be accountable

AI is known for its “hallucinations,” which are essentially auto-filling false information. Google Bard recently responded inaccurately during its public demo, and Microsoft Bing was attacked against “gaslighting” users. Whether it’s a factual error or an inappropriate email, you can’t turn an AI mistake into someone else’s problem. Even if it’s the work of AI, it’s our fault.

3. Share AI input

With AI, you get what you type. By being transparent about your input, you can learn all about how to get the most out of these tools. Also, the temptation to ask for blatantly biased results (“Tell me why millennials are selfish”) or use AI to plagiarize (“Give me a picture of Kehinde his Wiley style”). It also helps to resist Transparency encourages only designing prompts that you can be proud to show off.

4. Find context

AI is very good at capturing and simplifying information. For those of us whose work involves research, this eliminates the process of sifting through dozens of sites for a simple answer. We risk relinquishing power to invisible authorities and reclaiming summaries rather than nuanced perspectives. We need to supplement simple AI-generated outputs with our own research and critical thinking. .

5. Provide system transparency

As companies use AI to make more decisions, people have a right to know how the system produces results. The GDPR requires companies to disclose “meaningful information about the logic involved” in automated decision-making, but the US has no such protection. When companies use AI programs to recommend raises and bonuses, employees need to know what factors to consider and how to weigh them.

6. Reliable

A company came under scrutiny after allowing an AI-based productivity tool to fire 150 employees via email without human intervention. The company later said it would manually verify each employee’s case. Instead of assuming that AI is “omniscient,” we should challenge AI outcomes and give access to human-driven and dependable systems.

7. Audit AI bias

One of the main criticisms of AI is that it can amplify bias. ChatGPT has been known to write “horribly sexist (and racist)” performance reviews, even when given general information. AI-powered recruitment tools have a record of racial and gender bias and are often trained on human biased datasets. Companies should audit their tools regularly, and individual users should be aware of output bias.

8. Reevaluate your time

Another AI risk: Spending less time with humans and more time with machines. If AI creates efficiencies, what are we filling our newfound time with? We need to fundamentally rethink this new bandwidth instead of defaulting to doing more work . The most productive uses of that time may be connecting with colleagues, pursuing creative ideas, or simply taking a break.

9. Prioritize humanity

AI may improve efficiency at the expense of human dignity. Some companies are implementing AI-powered surveillance where employees are not allowed to take their eyes off the screen. Some agencies are already using AI to replace visual artists. I urge leaders to prioritize human well-being for purely ethical reasons, just as companies that pay higher wages often benefit from a more stable and experienced workforce. Companies may also find that there are tangible benefits to taking the public road.

10. Claim protection

A majority of leaders already plan to use AI to reduce the need for jobs. AI models continue to learn from the work of unpaid creators. And most of us don’t have the power to fight the biases of these tools. We need elected leaders who commit to change and build a stronger regulatory environment.

The future of AI in advertising

Just as the Internet has changed what it means to work in advertising, AI is about to fundamentally change many functions of our jobs. There are benefits. There are drawbacks. There will be changes that we cannot even imagine. As AI advances exponentially, we need to be ready for it.

Ethics is a subjective topic and I do not propose this list as a set of commandments carved in stone. It’s about starting a dialogue about what you can do. I hope that government agencies and individuals can pick up the mantle and start discussing how they are asking the industry to adopt responsible AI.

Hannah Lewman is Associate Strategy Director at Mekanism..