The President of the African Public Relations Association (APRA), Mr Yomi Badejo-Okusanya has urged Public Relations practitioners to embrace Artificial Intelligence (AI) for better performance.
Badejo-Okusanya, who is the lead partner at CMC Connect made the call at the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Ogba Lagos, during the Professional Forum on “PR, In The Age of Tech and AI” on Wednesday 19th June 2024.
According to him, the critical issue plaguing the PR industry now is that not many people can write compelling stories as artificial intelligence continues to revolutionise communication and engagement with audiences.
Okunsanya advised the audience comprising of students, lecturers and PR practitioners on the need to master the use of AI, emphasizing the rise of digital evolution with the advent of social media.
He explained that influencer engagement has changed the trend of how practitioners in the past solely depended on press releases and traditional media alone.
“The earlier you are AI compliant, the better. AI has made immediate feedback, virtual events and webinars possible. It has significantly enhanced the capability of PR practitioners by enabling them to analyze trends and leverage data respectively,” the PR expert noted.
He also highlighted how artificial intelligence is providing real time engagement with the help of chat box and virtual assistant, adding that AI tools help to streamline the process of identifying and vetting as well as possibility of engaging with influencers in the future.
The keynote speaker however cautioned on the use of artificial intelligence, stating that, although AI is the next big thing – a software used by computers to mimic aspects of human intelligence.
While reiterating that AI is not a cover up for laziness as abusers end up generating plagiarized content which are unethical, Okunsanya stressed the importance of maintaining authenticity and ethical considerations while using AI prompts.
The forum which had a segment of practical session enabled the facilitator to enlighten the audience on how to improve AI prompts.
Students were shown how to use open ended questions, how to request a step by step response for a concept they have little or no knowledge about and how to also provide enough context, directives and conceptualized ideas while benefiting maximally from A.I.
The insightful session had in attendance the Provost of the Institute – Mr Gbenga Adefaye; Deputy Provost, Dr. Boye Ola; Director of Special Programmes, Dr. Jide Johnson; Registrar, Mrs. Patricia Kalesanwo and other lecturers.
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