Is AI phasing out the industry expert?

Written by Cheryl Morris from Creative Word PR

Industry experts have been used in PR campaigns for years to share knowledge and showcase best practise. Crucial in building credibility and trust they are the cornerstone of a good PR campaign helping to not only build brand awareness, but spark discussion and highlight thought leadership.

With the rise in AI, ‘expert’ comments and opinions are now readily available at our fingertips with key theories and information churned out in seconds at the click of a button.

A recent study on the growth of AI and its uses found that at least a quarter of the top use cases were to do some form of thinking - to generate ideas and opinions which individuals could then use.

However, these easy, ready-made responses might not be all that they seem with incorrect answers, misleading data and inherent bias found in many AI responses.

In a trend towards AI thinking what are the risks and how can businesses protect their future expertise?

Ease of instant responses can lead to inaccuracies

AI responses rely on asking the right questions in the right way. It doesn’t consider the accuracy of the data being presented and has even been proven to make up statistics. If businesses rely on the data as fact, they risk errors creeping into messaging.

Investigations recently found that AI services made huge errors before the Scottish Election making up fake scandals, inventing candidates or giving incorrect dates. Think tank Demo found that AI bots gave voters misinformation to 34 per cent of questions posed. With a fifth of voters using AI chatbots or search tools to get information about the parliamentary elections it left many with incorrect information before the election.

A recent report in Yahoo also found that half of AI health answers are wrong even if they do sound convincing. The claims being given are often unfounded, the footnotes lead nowhere and the chatbot is unable to ask further questions to see whether the question itself might be the wrong one to ask in the situation.

The worrying thing is that re-using inaccurate data can leave companies liable and nothing fuels a PR disaster better than false information and misleading opinions.

Incorrect assumptions lead to bias

Not only can the content have factual errors, but they can also form inherit biases. Algorithms are based on specific data that they are trained on. This means opinions are formed from the data they receive which can result in discriminatory and one-sided opinions that wouldn’t form in human interactions.

In 2019, a widely used algorithm in US hospitals designed to predict which patients would need extra medical care favoured white patients over black patients. Although race was not explicitly included, the algorithm relied on healthcare cost history, which correlated with race. Black patients often incurred lower healthcare costs despite similar medical needs, leading the platform to underestimate their care requirements.

AI can only copy opinion, it can’t create it

AI is only as accurate as the data it is fed. It uses complex algorithms and data sets to make assumptions and pull together responses.

This is why AI content follows the same style and generic responses. They miss the natural flair of human content because AI tools recombine patterns from vast data sets to provide predictable responses and outputs. Using repetitive algorithms, the content created follows the same templates.

This is completely against the requirements of thought leadership which generates new thinking and in-depth analysis of current trends and knowledge.

How can leaders maintain their expert status?

1 Keep innovating

New ideas are the key to innovation and something AI cannot support. The likes of ChatGPT pull together opinions from existing content and are only as knowledgeable as the information feeding them. It means that any response will be generic and not specific to your business. Innovation and looking outside the box to think differently is key to maintaining an edge.

2 Confidence in opinions shouldn’t be eroded

Don’t be afraid to have an opinion. Generic AI responses rarely cover topics in-depth and know a company as well as the people working in the sector day after day. Have the confidence to form your own opinions and write from experience. How does that concept affect your business? What have you learnt? Only then can advice and knowledge be truly useful.

3 Knowledge share is key to growth

Keep learning. Don’t rely on AI for knowledge. Keep testing and gaining expertise from reputable sources. Network with like-minded individuals to share experiences and best practise, complete industry training and read from trusted sources.

AI is a useful tool in generating ideas, but it shouldn’t be used to replace human thought and knowledge.

The world doesn’t need more generic content it needs strong thought leaders to stand up and share their experiences.