By Arek Gazda
IABC/Chicago Chapter events help you advance through the stages of your career path. We encourage all members to take the IABC Career Assessment to learn your strengths, identify development opportunities and attend our events to improve existing and learn new skills.
Hindsight 2028: What we will tell ourselves
Our Chapter’s most recent event was one of a kind, as Lynda Carlisle, partner at CS-Effect, discussed a topic that’s both frightening and exciting.
With the launch of Chat GPT, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and emerging new forward-thinking technologies have been on many communication professionals’ minds lately. Some fear the world where these tools replace us, while others consider it an opportunity to strengthen our profession and provide more value.
In our conversation, Lynda reflected on the learning from the last five years, shared her vision for the next five years and provided perspective on how to use these new tools to advance our profession and continue creating human-centric communications for our audiences.
Here are some key takeaways:
1. Taking charge & embracing change
Our profession should not fear change. Lynda reminds us that “although the tools we use to do our jobs may change, the essence of our job is not going to.” Our companies and leaders continue to need our expertise to craft effective communications that reach our audiences with impactful messaging at the right time and place.
Change is inevitable, and in the digital era, it happens fast. Lynda encourages communication professionals to stay in charge and prepare their future selves for continued success.
When hearing about new and emerging technology, we must remember that our profession has been through a lot of change over the years. From the rise of social media to new tools and platforms, we’ve managed to evolve and use those tools as assets.
It’s our responsibility to study and understand the new technology and decide how to use it to shape the future of the communication profession and make our jobs easier.
2. Chatting it up with Chat GPT
Being a very hot conversation topic these days, Chat GPT and other AI content generators put many communication professionals in a panic mode.
Lynda advises us to refocus and invest time in learning and understanding these new tools. They can indeed provide good ideas and detailed content, though they have limitations. AI-generated content lacks personality, opinion and context, and that is where communication professionals add value.
That human-centered touch is an essential characteristic of effective communication. Readers don’t always remember what they read, but they will remember how the content made them feel and how it impacted them at the time of reading.
According to Lynda, these tools won’t replace us, and we definitely need to learn how to use them to continue creating content that grabs attention, increases understanding and changes behaviors.
3. With great AI power comes great responsibility
The concern with an increased amount of false material on our channels and users using apps like TikTok for news and information gives communication professionals an opportunity to step in.
As technology continues to make substantial advancement jumps, managing reputation and personal and professional brands requires strong skills. The notion of synthetic and generative content, deepfake video and voice generators, and self-proclaimed influencers leading the conversation creates a new level of risk.
This is an opportunity for communication professionals to use their skills. In a world where misinformation is increasing, we, as professionals, need to be able to identify when such content is a reputational or security risk and when to mark it as entertainment for YouTube or TikTok.
4. Five years ago vs. today vs. five years from now
A lot has changed in the last five years, and a lot will change in the next five years. As we’ve navigated through the pandemic, social unrest, presidential elections, remote and hybrid workplace, and more, we’ve proven the value we provide to the business.
The fact is workplace trends will continue to evolve and change, and our job will be to reengage our employees after each new disruption that may come our way.
Tools will help generate new content. Our job will be to cut through the noise, listen, create a stronger connection to the purpose and understand our employees’ sentiments regarding the communication they receive.
5. Learn with IABC
To keep a seat at the table, Lynda encourages communication professionals to welcome change, learn and continue providing business value.
The new technology is not here to replace us. The business needs our expertise to humanize its communications, advise leaders to lead with empathy and identify possible risks. We are also best suited to align AI-generated content with human values to build socially and ethically responsible company cultures.
Start learning today!
Begin future-proofing your career by taking the IABC Career Assessment. It will show you where you are in your career and give you insight into where you can be five years from now.
Once you have a career plan, take advantage of IABC Learning Academy, connect with your peers on the HUB and consider attending the 2023 World Conference. Hosted in Toronto, this year’s World Conference will feature a panel discussion about AI-generated content and communication professionals’ role in telling stories that deepen relationships, impact, curiosity and more.
We hope to see you there!
Arek Gazda is a professional communicator with experience in the financial and food service industries.
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