Ethics in the age of artificial intelligence; 3 important questions that managers must answer

A few years ago, if a large company wanted to produce an advertisement, you had to spend a lot of money and time on research and filming, but today, thanks to artificial intelligence tools, the same steps are done with a fraction of the cost and time. The speed of turning ideas into implementation in the marketing world has slowed down and every week a new tool is introduced that promises to work faster and cheaper. Now 57.5% of marketers use artificial intelligence for content creation. However, in the midst of this rush, the main question for managers should not be, “What is the next tool?” rather, they should ask “at what price?”. The future belongs to those brands that include ethics in their strategies.

If you are a company manager or a brand owner, in order to be ethical in working with artificial intelligence, you should think about these 3 questions:

1. Have we measured the impact of artificial intelligence on the culture of our society?

Examining the impact of technology on societies is essential because large linguistic models still fail to understand the cultural nuances that build audience trust. These models sometimes slip in observing subtle but important points, such as the way of writing the names of some ethnic groups or respecting the specific titles of the natives.

Language evolves every day, and too much automation can destroy human subtleties and user trust. Instead of relying entirely on generic tools, managers should go for tools that are designed with cultural awareness and properly reflect the voices of different communities.

2. Are we transparent with our audience about the use of artificial intelligence?

Transparency in the use of AI is important to maintain authenticity and prevent audience deception, as tools like Sora blur the line between reality and fake content. When a high-quality video or image is produced by artificial intelligence, it is difficult for the audience to recognize its inauthenticity. This issue can lead to more serious risks such as strengthening racial stereotypes and inequality.

For example, digital influencers created without careful supervision and by uninformed teams may present offensive caricatures of minorities. As Ruha Benjamin, author of the book “Race After Technology”, says, technology does not create problems, but reflects or hides existing inequalities. So brands need to be clear about how and why they use AI.

3. Do we prioritize data more than human values?

The priority should not be with the data; Because over-reliance on technology reduces critical thinking skills, and brands must prioritize humanity over data dominance. The continuous use of artificial intelligence to speed up the production of different content in the long run makes the human mind lazy.

Some leading organizations now include clauses in their contracts that limit the use of artificial intelligence. This is not an objection to efficiency, but rather a message that speed should never come at the cost of sacrificing authenticity and human values. In general, it is expected that in the future, transparency and ethics will be the most important distinguishing features of innovative companies.