The Arthur W. Page Center launched an insights report on digital analytics, a collection of research spanning several topics within the artificial intelligence (AI) and digital space. The seven projects were conducted by scholars from 13 universities around the world and provide guidance, lessons and recommendations for developing digital communication strategies.
Page Center senior research fellow Frank Dardis, associate professor of advertising/public relations at Penn State, led the call for research proposals on digital analytics. He said the report's research will have "immediate practical implications for our industry."
The projects in the report are centered on ethical considerations of using digital analytics responsibly. Covering topics such as algorithm transparency, AI, corporate data responsibility and digital listening, the report highlights research findings applicable to both industry professionals and academics.
"In addition to the key insights offered in the report, I like that the collective research approached digital analytics and ethics in multiple ways," Dardis said. "There are practitioner functions and perceptions, stakeholder reactions, public trust, legal perspectives and employee relations."
Page Center research fellow and co-editor and designer of the insights report Cassandra Troy echoed that sentiment.
"This work helps highlight ongoing ethical challenges of AI that PR practitioners are still wrestling with," said Troy, an assistant professor at the University of Illinois who earned her doctorate from the Bellisario College. "It is a critical issue that deserves more dialogue and support."
One of the research projects in the call urges organizations to disclose their AI use clearly and accessibly, calling for transparency in a digital landscape riddled with deepfakes and AI-generated content that is becoming exceedingly difficult to distinguish.
