Cision, an end-to-end consumer and media intelligence and communications platform, announces the introduction of a new Code of Ethics and a comprehensive Risk Management Framework created specifically to guide the company’s development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven capabilities. This industry-leading action reflects increasing concerns from clients, governments, the public and regulators about the potential dangers of AI.

“The transformative power of AI has already impacted many aspects of communications, enabling us to better understand our audiences, craft more effective messaging and automate time-consuming tasks,” said Antony Cousins, Executive Director of AI Strategy at Cision. “However, we must acknowledge that along with these benefits come potential risks to accuracy, privacy, fairness, transparency and equality.”

The recent breakthroughs in generative AI and the accelerated pace of development across the PR, communications and marketing disciplines has created the need for a principled approach to the application of AI to ensure any guidelines aren’t quickly outdated. Cision’s principles include commitments to:

• Rigorous testing, validation, and ongoing monitoring to minimize potential harm
• Privacy protection and security of client information
• Transparent documentation and explanation of AI objectives, potential risks and mitigations
• Commitment to maintaining human oversight while targeting and eliminating bias where possible

Cision has been at the forefront of AI development for years, leveraging advanced technologies to deliver actionable analysis and powerful insights to its clients, and is the first in the PR & communications sector to take a public stand on the responsible application of AI.

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“We understand that as the largest communications technology company in the world, we must ensure that our AI solutions not only serve the needs of all our clients, but also avoid any unfair discrimination, violation of personal privacy or amplification of misinformation. The implementation of a robust risk management framework will ensure that Cision’s AI technologies adhere to ethical standards and best practices, fostering a more equitable and responsible AI ecosystem,” said Cousins.

Cision is also actively shaping the development of government guidelines ensuring representation for the communications industry in future AI regulations by actively engaging with the UK Government on its recently published whitepaper on AI regulation and the U.S. Government’s request for contributions to their AI regulation plans. In addition, as a leader in industry associations like CIPR and AMEC, Cousins will be working to build broader industry commitment to responsible development guidelines.

“If we do not proactively act responsibly, forthcoming regulation will be overly restrictive and limit our ability to maximize the positive impact AI can have for our customers. We want to collaborate with the whole industry to avoid this risk and ensure good outcomes for our clients and their stakeholders,” said Cousins. Cision is inviting any relevant stakeholders to reach out directly if they want to collaborate on industry-wide commitments.

Cision has a robust pipeline of AI-driven capabilities leveraging the largest data set in the industry for training AI models, which it will continue to bring to market through its Brandwatch consumer intelligence solution, PR Newswire and CisionOne, the new revolutionary PR & communications platform, that debuts in July in the UK.

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