This week sees the launch of Platinum, a 45-chapter book comprising contributions from more than 50 PR thought leaders on five key areas (perspectives, practice, performance, provocation and the future potential of the profession) to mark the CIPR’s 70^th anniversary year.

According to Ketchum Chief Engagement Officer and Platinum Editor Stephen Waddington: “This is a blockbuster of a crowdsourced publishing project that has been 18 months in the creation. It’s a reflection of modern PR practice, a learning and development tool, and a cracking legacy project as the CIPR looks forward to its next 70 years.”

I was privileged to be asked to contribute to this project. My own chapter looks to the future – an attempt to frame the issues surrounding the impact of AI and automation on the PR industry in the coming years.

As a member of the CIPR’s AI in PR panel (#AIinPR), I am reminded daily of the possible opportunities and threats for the PR sector provided by the advance of AI and automation. However, it is interesting to note that a number of leading figures in the worlds of AI and PR have recently echoed some of the themes highlighted in my chapter in Platinum.

For example, I’ve just finished reading AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order, a book written by former head of Google China and current head of VC firm Sinovation Ventures, Dr Kai-Fu Lee. The reviews of the book so far seem to focus on his assertion that China is better placed to become the global AI superpower of the coming years with its advantages in data, computing power, AI expertise and conducive policy environment.

But the final chapters of his book tell a very personal story and one which leads to a very different perspective on the whole AI debate. As a result of a cancer diagnosis in 2013, Dr Lee realised that his lifelong focus on AI and optimisation had failed to consider the importance of the human element. More specifically, he lamented his failure to acknowledge the crucial importance of social purpose and the value of human relationships in relation to AI.

In a similar vein, Google’s former global head of PR Jessica Powell has also called upon big tech firms such as Google, Facebook and Amazon to end their “self-delusion” and “either fess up to the reality we are creating or live up to the vision we market to the world. Because if you’re going to tell people you’re their saviour, you better be ready to be held to a higher standard.” She goes on to criticise “the endless use of ‘scale’ as an excuse for being unable to solve problems in a human way. The faux earnestness, the self-righteousness. All those cheery product ads set to ukulele music.”

In short, both Dr Kai-Fu Lee and Jessica Powell (people who have had a ringside seat at the cutting edge of AI and PR) are saying that senior managements everywhere must make accountable leadership and social purpose a key part of their agenda.

And as CIPR President Sarah Hall says in her introduction to the Platinum book: “the Institute’s fathers had accountable leadership and social purpose at the front and centre of their work.  This higher purpose may have faded in ensuing years, but have no doubt that we are returning to that original focus as we look to educate business and employers about the strategic value that PR offers and uphold the laws enshrined in the Royal Charter.”

All of this bears out one of the key points I make in my chapter in the Platinum book – namely, that whatever shape the PR profession takes in the coming years, the human element of PR – relationships, ethics, reputation, social purpose – must remain paramount.

AI and automation will almost certainly replace many of the current roles and skills of today’s PR practitioner. But we must take an active role in helping shape the decisions about what part AI and automation should play in both PR and the wider world as well as the reputational and ethical implications for these fields.

In summary, the CIPR Platinum book is a hugely valuable assessment of where the PR profession has come from and where it stands today as well as what directions it may take in the future. Anyone with any desire to have a long-lasting career in PR would do well to read the book in its entirety.

Image courtesy of flickr user otavanopisto