They Gave Us Something to Talk About
September is Ethics Month at PRSA, a time to reflect on the principles that guide our profession. This year, there’s something new to discuss: Ethical Standard Advisory #22, which addresses accountability, oversight and the responsible use of agentic AI in communications.
Five years. Before last month, that’s how long it had been since the Public Relations Society of America had added a new ethical advisory to the PRSA Code of Conduct. The new addition is a no-nonsense advisory on agentic AI.
Ethical Standard Advisory #22 doesn't say, “Be careful out there with that newfangled toy.” It says you’re accountable for how the AI tools you use are designed, deployed, and supervised. Not the vendor. Not your IT department. You.
Let's all sit with that for a minute.
Most of us didn’t design the agentic AI tools we’re using. Plenty of us don’t fully understand how these systems end up in our work environments or help make decisions. And supervised implies an ongoing relationship with your AI, not a one-time approval but a habit of regularly checking in on its behavior in an almost parental sense, making sure it’s not leaving proverbial doors unlocked, consuming proverbial garbage, making proverbial messes, or burning down the proverbial house.
Do you know what your AI tools have published on your behalf this month? Would you know if something drifted?
If you or your organization haven't yet adopted these systems, are you ready for the time you might have to (or get to)? This is the discomfort we’ll be sitting with throughout Ethics Month." Later this month, we'll host a virtual live roundtable with an expert speaker, and in the lead-up, we'll share some curated resources that have a tie-in to Advisory #22. Not because we have it all figured out already but because “it’s still early” is not a defense the Code recognizes.
Details on this month's programming are on the events page. You might want to start with the questions above. They’re harder than they look.
*PRSA recognizes Ethics Month every September to highlight the core ethical foundations of the communications profession, offering programming, webinars, and educational resources.