Abstract
Artificial intelligence (AI) has gained both momentum and importance within society over the past several years. This article provides an opening for further discussion to the broader social and digital media research community and those interested in answering important questions related to these areas by leveraging a focused, productive approach. In supporting future educational endeavors within the communication classroom, and specifically to this topic, we propose five important considerations that will move the conversation forward. The considerations within this article are meant to engage scholars in intellectual conversation and to provide an initial foundation for the direction of communication education. They are not meant to be an exhaustive list, but rather initiate discussions within education and research addressing implications emerging technologies have had on our field and what could be incorporated into the media and communication curriculum to prepare educators and students alike.
Keywords
Introduction
Because of its transformative capacity across multiple domains, artificial intelligence (AI) should be considered a textbook case in industry disruption. Algorithm-powered machines are taking on tasks faster and with fewer errors than those once completed by humans. This illustrates that AI has gained both momentum and importance within society over the past few years. However, media education has not fully incorporated AI despite the fact that technology has the potential to help develop skills to become a better communication professional (Brown, 2019; Petrucci, 2019). For example, AI can complement a communication professional’s skills such as predicting trends of publics, monitoring social media conversations (Luttrell & Wallace, 2019), and detecting fake news stories in an effective manner (Waugh, 2019), speech recognition, decision-making, visual enhancements, and historical data (Chemouil et al., 2019). In addition, AI has the ability to find words or phrases that unverified information often uses and flag the false information seen on social media (Anderson et al., 2018; Ozbay & Alatas, 2020). As researchers and educators, the question becomes, what should be taught to students in the media and communication fields to prepare for the future and how should our teaching strategies be developed from the past?
Based on extensive research, to support future educational endeavors within the communication classroom, and specifically to this topic, we propose five important considerations that will move the conversation forward. This article provides an opening for further discussion to the broader social and digital media research community and those interested in answering important questions related to these areas by leveraging a focused, productive approach. There is an expanded opportunity within this field to explore divergent ideas and perspectives, each of the included considerations provides the community with an appropriate foundation to initiate the conversation related to the direction of future AI, social media, digital media, and emerging technology research. The following considerations are meant to engage scholars in intellectual conversation and to provide an initial platform for the direction of communication education. They are not meant to be an exhaustive list, but rather initiate discussions within education and research addressing the digital divide with respect to AI. The below five considerations provide implications for how communication education should move forward on the heels of development of AI. We suggest these considerations on the basis of approaches from both theoretical and practical perspectives that address the potential impact of AI on societal and individual levels (Kumar et al., 2019; Whittlestone et al., 2019).
Observations of Emerging Technologies in the Classroom
Consideration 1: The metamorphosis of theory to practice
Within the classroom, educators should incorporate emerging technologies, such as AI, to students and explain how traditional media theory still applies and can be reinterpreted to account for changes in technology. This will provide an opportunity for students to expand their knowledge about the underlying mechanisms of AI. Moreover, AI helps students see the practical and intellectual evolution of theory and practice in relation to emerging communication technologies. Even as students need to understand where the industry is heading, they must appreciate foundations of practice.
Scholarship on teaching and learning in communication demonstrates how bringing industry practices to the classroom to help students exercise theory and principles has long-term benefits for students entering the industry (McCollough, 2018; Parsons & MacCallum, 2019), for the communities they engage (Hoxmeier & Lenk, 2003; Jenkins & Sheehey, 2011; McCollough, 2019, In press; McCollough & Gibson, 2018), as well as the academic units that employ them (Huda et al., 2018; McCollough, 2019, In press). Within the industry, AI is being deployed to give practitioners the ability to analyze and efficiently participate in online conversations occurring across social networks, in nearly any language globally. Natural language processing and deep learning techniques are being implemented within AI to teach systems to understand written words and classify articles while also determining relevance and influence for brands (Glitch, 2017). To that end, we suggest integrating the same approach within the classroom. The benefits of increased use of AI with social media at the collegiate level are multi-tiered: to enhance the way students are learning; to augment traditional methods of teaching; to advance the use of digital technology, expanding beyond personal use to broader ways of utilization; to allow academicians to learn from one another; and to positively affect relationships for community partners and the universities utilizing AI.
Educators should adopt AI methods in the classroom to get students prepared to apply appropriate tools to verify the truth of the messages. Millennial and Generation Z students are tech-savvy because they grew up as digital natives (Luttrell & McGrath, 2016, 2020); and even as they have cultivated a habitual proficiency with platforms, they still lack perspective on professional applications at their disposal and knowledge of the manner in which digital platforms are being manipulated by malicious actors (Brundage et al., 2018). The authors define Millennials as any person born between 1981 and 1996 and any person beginning in 1997 onward as part of Generation Z (Dimock, 2019). Given recent scholarship on the challenges posed by fake news (Nelson & Taneja, 2018; Tandoc et al., 2018) and bots (Woolley & Howard, 2016), the value of training informed consumers who can verify content and ensure the validity of their own content is essential to professional ethics and the social good.
Consideration 2: Ethics as a primary component of classroom education surrounding emerging technologies
Generation Z, the cohort that makes up much of today’s student body, has witnessed questionable behavior from corporations, brands, sports teams, and even from the President of the United States. Unethical behavior has been a constant element that has shaped their lives, therefore understanding how best to make ethical decisions should be at the forefront of public relations educators. Research suggests that the next generation of learners will need educators to help them become more informed, media literate, ethical citizens because understanding various ethical philosophies, even at a basic level, can assist in making good decisions and much needed perspective-taking (Luttrell & McGrath, 2020).
In much the same way students develop their own public relations ethical codes of conduct (Luttrell & Ward, 2018), educators should have students think critically about the ethics of AI and perhaps even develop AI-driven codes of conduct. Ki et al. (2011) found that practitioners working in agencies with ethical guidelines were statistically more likely to engage in ethical practices. It stands to reason that students who learn about ethical practices during their university education are more likely to engage in ethical practices upon entering the field.
Professional associations, such as the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), American Marketing Association (AMA), the American Advertising Federation (AAF), the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), the International Public Relations Association (IPRA), International Institute of Marketing Professionals (IIMP), and the International Advertising Association (IAA), have developed ethical codes of conduct for use in the classroom and in practice. To reinforce these ethical codes through subject-specific materials and ongoing research, educators should consider incorporating ethics as a foundational component within communication classrooms a necessity. The need for a deepened understanding and integration of ethics is clear (Abrams et al., 2019). The evolution of such codes should include and consider disclosure of information and data-driven sections to aid consideration of ethical matters in each area. Presently this is a glaring omission from every code of ethics developed by the aforementioned professional associations. Yet, data, analytics, and AI are an integral component to the field of public relations. Therefore, we ardently call upon our industry partners and professional associations to make these adjustments. The ethical implications of data and AI should be top of mind for educators and their students. As society continues to depend on these technologies, brands must respond accordingly. And that means being ethical with their practices and uses from the start.
Consideration 3: Retooling the educator to meet the needs of the profession
It is essential for educators in media and communications to effectively incorporate professional context around the technology and emerging theories they teach in the classroom, with an eye toward ensuring graduates possess essential knowledge of the changes in the field. Prospective employers often believe that Millennials and Generation Z students are digitally proficient and expect them to be proficient when hired to entry-level positions (Brunner et al., 2018). Todd (2009) called for public relations educators and professionals to come together to develop a more professionally relevant curriculum that accounted for emerging industry trends, including the application of technology. The latest report from the Commission on Public Relations Education (CPRE) released findings that suggest that educators' assessment of those being hired into entry-level positions pose significant skills gaps in employer desired or expected abilities versus curriculum taught. The report urges university programs to revise, improve, or develop curriculum that increases experiential learning for all undergraduate students (CPRE, 2017; Örnebring, 2019; Setiawan et al., 2019).
While not a new topic within higher education, the need for professional development opportunities for educators is significant. Professional development is both an opportunity and a barrier. Employing this suggestion demands educating faculty to meet industry needs. Professional development surrounding basic constructs of AI in addition to how AI is affecting our industry may require additional support to master the intellectual and methodological dimensions involved. Therefore, additional resources, including funding, may be needed to educate faculty surrounding essential aspects of these new technologies and the implications within the classroom (De Clercq, 2019; Luttrell, 2012).
Consideration 4: Increase access to partnerships and resources while reducing barriers of entry
Students need to see the professional value of each digital platform throughout their educational journey and engage in the production and effective measurement of analytics to gauge true competence with strategic publics on digital platforms. Candidly speaking, the playing field is not level. Programs with more resources tend to offer access to multiple or premium-pay platforms and certifications such as Crimson Hexagon/Brandwatch, Facebook Blueprint, Social Studio, or Sprout Social. Regardless of the platform, students with access to these types of resources are better prepared to work in public relations, marketing, advertising, and journalism careers than those without (Chawinga, 2017; Prasad & Saigal, 2019).
Implementing digital strategies presents challenges and opportunities for brands, nonprofit entities, academic institutions, and organizations (Allagui & Breslow, 2016). AI-powered technology and social media management tools are central to some of the most recognizable brands including Nike, Under Armor, Google, Amazon, Starbucks, BMW, and more (Mitić et al., 2019), as well as becoming a rising area of specialization within the academic community (Alexander et al., 2019; Holmes et al., 2019). Through these technologies, individuals and organizations engage with, reach, persuade, and target key audiences more effectively across multiple platforms. As advances in AI, social media, and digital spaces have evolved, they have shaped new business practices, technologies, and new challenges and opportunities (boyd, 2015). Students must be educated on and have access to the most relevant platforms and certifications. Therefore, barriers for entry must be reduced or eliminated altogether. For example, organizations should offer free or low-cost access to analytics platforms and certifications.
Consideration 5: Media literacy as a means for reinvention in subdisciplines
Although education should reflect the development of technologies, media literacy should be a core component that educators emphasize to their students. Students in the media and communication fields must be educated as responsible, ethical consumers and producers on digital platforms and AI (Galloway & Swiatek, 2018). The need for education on effects theory remains essential in a field in constant reinvention (Bourne, 2019). For example, selective exposure, retention, bias, and perception remains relevant as social media users are now consistently encouraged to selectively adopt their sources of news and information across platforms, which have the potential to narrow their knowledge development, public opinion development, and engagement with social and civic issues (Friesem, 2019). Students may also be overloaded by too much information on social media and many different technologies that they can use suggesting a need to discuss matters of responsible media consumption and healthy approaches in information consumption and processing (Baccarella et al., 2018; Chai et al., 2019; Fuller, 2018).
Scholarship in the subdisciplines present value to practitioners in advertising and public relations (Chu & Kim, 2018; Fossen & Schweidel, 2017; Tandoc et al., 2018), political communicators, and journalists (Angus & Doherty, 2015; Mendenhall, 2017; Walters, 2017). There is room in the discussion for students with an entrepreneurial interest in leveraging digital media platforms and independent content development to build a personal brand in a variety of fields. While students may no longer identify with any of the subdisciplines, they can benefit from the principles of practice in each to advance their professional interests ethically and professionally, including scholars and educators in each field (Veletsianos & Kimmons, 2016).
Future Research
In addition, we call for scholars and practitioners to conduct research on how students understand information powered by AI and delivered in digital platforms. For instance, researchers can test how students experience interactivity through social platforms adopted by educators and if so, whether students’ knowledge has increased after learning through the new technologies. Evidence for the value of this field of study is prevalent in scholarship in several communication subdisciplines on earlier forms of communication technology as they were integrated into the classroom. Public relations scholarship on pedagogy is focusing on classrooms that are incorporating social media to enhance engagement (Fraustino et al., 2015; Mallia, 2014; Safapour et al., 2019) and professional development related to platform use (Bridgstock, 2019; Gleason & Manca, 2019; Kinsky & Bruce, 2016). Likewise, journalism’s pedagogical scholarship is looking at social media’s application in platform dissemination and AI (Angus & Doherty, 2015; Lewis et al., 2019), newsgathering and research (Mendenhall, 2017), writing for platform (Walters, 2017), narrative development (Wright & Doyle, 2019), high impact forms of experiential learning (Lowrey & Daniels, 2017), its overarching impact on the traditional curriculum (Bor, 2014; Lipschultz, 2012), as well as faculty and student expectations of its use in journalism (Kothari & Hickerson, 2016), among others. There is no doubt AI will have implications for both of these fields, among others, and merits deeper investigation to consider the benefits, limits, and concerns thoroughly.
Sundar’s (2008) argument of machine heuristic also calls into question the capacity of students to engage in critical thinking when using AI in the classroom. This agenda should be tested further because there is also a possibility that students may absorb information provided by media technologies, including AI, without critical thinking. Furthermore, research should address how to adopt media technologies to enhance students’ effortful thinking surrounding information. This line of inquiry also speaks to the body of literature addressing the need for professionals in the industry to drive the strategic thought in AI’s integration into practice, rather than permitting the technology to drive practice (Anderson et al., 2018). At this point, the conversation around agency and cognitive deficiency is still largely up for debate but deserves analysis that helps educators and professionals to consider how to ensure that humans drive decision-making and the execution, with the aid of AI.
From a critical perspective, the growing integration of AI in mass communication classrooms prompts the need to evaluate the implications of its integration and what opportunities and challenges it poses for educators. This includes regulating AI, including how much decision-making it manages, as well as issues of transparency, accountability, and data control and access. From a pedagogical standpoint, consideration of the potential for loss of human agency and dependence lock-in aligns with concerns about perceived deficiencies in critical analysis and decision-making noted above. There is also an opportunity to evaluate the teaching and learning in ethics as it relates to the integration of AI in the industry. A potential topic of value is the consideration of knowledge and resource disparities between organizations that have access to AI and those that do not.
Conclusion
Given the growth in AI’s use across communication subdisciplines, its value to professionals makes it an essential addition to communication curricula. The authors have discussed the value of AI in the classroom as a new means of re-examining classic theories and principles of practice, providing yet another opportunity for students to connect with the foundations of our discipline. AI is proving to be a resource in combating the post-truth era of digital media production, enabling educators to better train industry professionals and engage citizens. AI has also joined other emergent forms of mass communication as something once used for recreation that is now being harnessed for professional use among the latest generation of digital natives in the classroom and in the workforce.
Considering the diverse applications within the industry, the authors argue that AI is an essential addition to the classroom as educators look to send the next generation of job-ready professionals into the industry, prepared to leverage this technology in its best practical and ethical manner, while achieving institutional missions to improve the quality of life in the communities around them. Chief among the areas of study for students is the addition of media literacy and media effects, enabling them to embrace a more informed approach to AI consumption and use.
In light of the demand for AI in the industry, the authors call for some essential revisions to our curriculum and professional development in practice. Changes to how we teach and practice ethics, provide access to the technology, develop partnerships, provide resources, train students in content development, engaging in monitoring of messages with AI, and how we engage in professional development in a communication landscape where AI’s role continues to grow and evolve are all critical considerations as we work past the first quarter of the 21st century. The suggested changes in the curriculum are designed to reflect industry adaptation and the versatile applications of AI we see in diverse, global settings.
The suggested adaptations in the curriculum also demand further inquiry from scholars and educators that will help promote a relevant, dynamic curriculum related to AI. Research should explore AI’s impact on student knowledge acquisition and the cultivation of critical analysis and decision-making. The impact on industry-relevant skills development associated with integrating AI applications into the curriculum also requires thorough study. Scholars must perform a critical assessment of the implications of AI’s integration in the classroom, and how it may affect teaching and learning, positively and negatively. Finally, studying how AI is integrated into ethics courses, particularly on matters of resource disparity, audience manipulation, human-led decision-making, and matters of transparency, accountability, and data management, will be critical as educators consider the full spectrum of AI’s influence on communication education and practice. Given the evolving nature of AI and communication professions, the labor to stay current in the discipline and to provide relevant educational opportunities remains a constant.
Footnotes
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
