Part 2: How do marketers deal with the unethical use of AI?

Will we start seeing AI-generated ads as a cheap alternative to real ads?

To paraphrase an infamous quote about Hollywood - “Madison Avenue is the sound of a crowd racing to the site of a lightning strike.” As such, brands - and their marketing partners - have historically always been quick to jump on the latest technology bandwagon (especially if said bandwagon is an EV). In just the last year, 3D outdoor, NFTs, short-form video, Livestream Shopping, AR, VR, the Metaverse, and obviously AI are just some of the platforms, technologies, and categories markers should - or could - be exploring and experimenting with. But regardless of whether any of or all these options can provide a “cheap alternative,” the quantity of money spent on the communication will always be relevant to the quality of effectiveness created by the communication,” says Ernest Lupinacci, Brand Strategist at Atlas: Earth.

“As we all can agree, AI-assisted videos can be created faster than traditional video ads, allowing businesses to get their message out to potential customers more while saving time and costs,” says Tonic Worldwide Founder-COO Samir Asher. “However, it will really find adoption if technology matures. At Twip, our AI video-led practice, we have been using AI-led videos with a layer of hyper personalisation and two-way interaction. AI along with these layers can change the way businesses use the technology, not just for interactive storytelling but also for direct communication. Imagine your next loyalty point statement as a personalised two-way interactive video.”

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Asher feels that we will definitely see more AI-generated ads in the future. This is not because they are cheaper, but it can personalise brands’ outreach to customers that was previously impossible, he adds. “AI systems like DALL E are already enabling us to create AI-generated images using just text description. Brands can capitalise on this technology by activating consumers to create their variation of an ad. Creative possibilities are endless. However, will it completely replace the current process? No, human intervention is not completely getting replaced.”

“AI-based content and engagement assets will be all pervasive through digital and social marketing, even targeted ad spends and intent gathering drives, resulting in heightened engagements and higher return on marketing spends. With rapid adoption and acceptance of web3, the role of AI tools in marketing is just about getting shaped for the plethora of avenues to be exploited. Possibilities with AI in marketing are potentially at the cusp of the evolving today and the unprecedented tomorrow,” remarks Shajesh Menon, Founder-CEO, Younion.

On the other hand, Amer Ahmad, Director of Technology at Blink Digital, feels that the current AI implementation and uses are limited; even the Cadbury campaigns have a narrow scope. “We can see more adoption if agencies and businesses use these tools regularly, not for one-off campaigns. That being said, the tools are being rapidly developed, and it will be surprised not to see them used more often than not.”

In the months to come, AI-based video ads are bound to become increasingly popular and AI technology in general will find a more prominent space in the creative workflows, says SoCheers’ Co-Founder-Director, Siddharth Devnani, on a more positive note.

Kunal Kothari, Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer, Mobavenue Media, too, adds here that AI is already playing a crucial role in content intelligence, predictive analysis, and optimization, leading to better advertisements and efficient marketing. According to him, as technology advances, we can envision AI replacing the manual creation of ads more effectively with improved budget allocation.

Unethical uses

On the flip side, AI-generated ads have the potential of being misused, with the spectre of deepfakes hanging over us. What are the other challenges? How do we do deal with the potential unethical uses of AI in the field? 

“At the risk of sounding enigmatic, the question asked might as well be “How do marketing professionals deal with the unethical use of every-single-piece-of-technology at our disposal?” And at the risk of sounding banal, the answer is “By being extremely ethical.” As professionals, every means of communication we have at our disposal has the potential to open a Pandora’s Box, including still, putting a ball-point pen to paper. So, be a professional and embrace your responsibility as enthusiastically as you pursue your creativity. It may not sound like fun, but to share another one of my favourite quotes from Hollywood: “It ain’t called Show FUN, it’s called show BUSINESS,” quips Atlas:Earth’s Ernest Lupinacci.

Himani Agrawal notes that the concept of deepfakes isn’t new; it leverages the power of machine learning and AI to manipulate or generate visuals and audio content that can easily be used for fake events and fraudulent activities.

According to Agrawal, the challenges of AI in advertising and marketing are:

Advertisers often have little to no understanding of how algorithms work and how unconscious biases can be coded into them. This lack of understanding can lead to advertising bias that negatively impacts both performance and ROI. To avoid these potential pitfalls, it is important for advertisers to work with vendors who are transparent about their algorithms and processes.

Data privacy is often a blurry line especially while using AI-tools as these tools might overstep customers’ privacy and legal guidelines.

Some other challenges also include: the uncertainty of governmental policies which could lead to massive losses for brands and agencies which are heavily investing their time and money in the space.

One of the ways to tackle these deep fakes, according to Agrawal, is regular human intervention to inspect and survey the content prior to its broadcasting and investing in focus groups to understand the possibilities of the ad’s reception. After all, it is targeted towards a specific segment of customers, and AI simply supports and eases the process of doing so. “Overall, it would require a multi-integrated approach to help sensitize and regulate the space to reap the benefits to its fullest potential considering the list of methods to be creative is endless with little to no restraint.”

The power of AI has grabbed the attention of all digital artists, graphic designers as well as early adopters, says Madhusmita Panda, Chief Marketing Officer, KredX. The technology, she adds, is now spreading rapidly, faster than AI companies can shape norms around its use and prevent dangerous outcomes. Despite the extraordinary advances that the world is noticing in artificial intelligence, there is a growing concern regarding ethics and the extent to which algorithms can be imbued with moral values, she maintains.

According to her, all technologies have the potential to be misused and abused. “The growing concern right now is that these systems produce images that can cause a range of harms, such as reinforcing racial and gender stereotypes or plagiarizing work of various artists. Or fake photos could be used to bully or create disinformation that looks real. To intercept these challenges it is crucial to create awareness about the technology and how it can be misused. Organisations need to be transparent (both internally and externally) about how they’re using AI. It is important to undertake necessary measures to ensure that AI ethics are taken seriously. For example, hiring ethicists who work with corporate decision-makers, developing a code of AI ethics, developing AI audit trails, etc. It is also crucial to ensure that the data being used is not biased. Creating better data and algorithms is not just an opportunity to use AI ethically – it’s also a way to try to address biases (racial and gender for example) in the world on a larger scale,” says Panda. 

At the same time, she adds, it is also crucial to focus on the development of explainable AIs and understand how the AI makes decisions and be able to explain those systems. Moreover, firms need to adhere to regulations. “Given an increase in the misuse of AI, it is suggested for firms to create a body that can evaluate the ethical concerns. That said, what we require is a proper legislation framework that limits the negative and harmful usage of technology while at the same time allows users to utilize the full potential of this technology.”

“Recently, in a rather disruptive move, an AI-generated art piece won first place at the Colorado State Fair’s fine arts competition in the digital arts category. This created quite a stir on the internet. Well, I see this as a potential precursor to AI-generated design in advertising and marketing campaigns,” says SoCheers’ Siddharth Devnani.

Cheap or not, he adds, the technology does open up the possibilities of what is achievable at scale. “Innovative campaigns like Cadbury's are literally the first of their kind, but are only the tip of the possible innovation. The actual impact is likely to be seen when AI and similar technologies are made accessible to brands and agencies across the spectrum, irrespective of their scale. For instance, DALL.E is creating images simply from keyword prompts, and Facebook is soon launching a text-to-video tool. I think that everyone who has a stock subscription, a Behance account or uses the Adobe creative suite will be looking to add these tools to their arsenal in the next few months.” 

While agreeing that there are some concerns about the potential for misuse, Samir Asher feels that it is clear that the benefits of AI-created videos far outweigh any risks. Hence, he says, there is no need to shy away from the revolution of AI. “The good news is that there is a growing recognition of these risks and a budding movement to do something about them. One key way we can address the potential ethical misuse of AI is through education and public awareness. We need to educate those who develop and deploy AI systems about the ethical implications of their work. And we need to make sure the general public is aware of both the tremendous potential and the real risks posed by AI.”

Deepfakes are an extremely problematic side-effect of the advancement of AI technology, says Siddharth Devnani. Even though misuse of celebrity faces and misinformation campaigns by the means of fakes is not new, the AI-generated ones will potentially be quicker and more precise, hence multiplying the issue considerably. Individual platforms have an important role to play in combating such challenges, and some initial steps have already been taken in that direction. Twitter proactively identifies and predominantly tags such content with warnings; and DALL.E has elaborate protocols in place to prevent the upload of faces. Moreover, with a global backlash from users and legislators alike, the platforms that make and distribute such content will have to be more responsible. This should help in curbing its distribution to a certain degree. Another challenge might soon arise around the copyright issues, and we might have to figure out who is ultimately responsible for the content created. Is it the platforms, the developers or the distributors? We can expect many more such ethical questions to rise up in the near future. And like with every other rapidly advancing technology, we have to tread carefully, so that it can grow to a position of mass significance.

The ethical dilemma of AI is still prevalent, says Tejas Rathod, Co-founder-COO, Mobavenue Media. “The rise of privacy concerns and inaccurate data fed into AI, resulting in false customer experience recommendations, are some of the other major challenges. Developers must create transparency and ensure strict measures for accurate AI-based predictiveness to overcome potential AI misuse," he asserts. 

AI technology, like any other technology, is neither good nor bad, says Amer Ahmad. It depends on how people utilise it. There will always be bad actors, and with deepfakes this can pose a threat, but it is the responsibility of the makers of these tools, the platforms, and most importantly, the users to ensure that it isn't misused.