Artificial Intelligence, Strategic Communicators and Activism

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.

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.