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Global Strategic Communication Consortium announces Berger Research award recipients

The Global Strategic Communication Consortium named Ruth Avidar, Ph.D., senior lecturer, Yezreel Valley College, Israel, and  Itzhak Mashiah, Ph.D. visiting scholar, University of Mississippi, recipients of the inaugural Berger Research Award. They were competitively selected for their proposed research titled, "Strategic Approaches of AI Technology by PR Leadership: Exploring Ethical Artificial Intelligence Usage in Public Relations."

Avidar will present a lecture on the research at the University of South Carolina School of Journalism and Mass Communications on August 28, 2024.

Avidar and Mashiah’s research argues that the field of AI in PR is ripe for a study that systematically explores how PR firms can uphold ethical standards amidst technological disruption. It seeks to bridge the theoretical gap by proposing strategies to ensure that AI is used in ways that align with the foundational principles of PR professionalism.

Shannon Bowen

Shannon A. Bowen, founder and executive director of GSCC, said that although there are academic ethical AI standards there is a need to know what is happening in industry.

"This research examines what public relations agencies are using as standards for their AI provisions, the ethical examination of AI use, and how practitioners are trained on AI — topics we desperately need to study in our industry that has received little to no attention from researchers,” Bowen said.

The authors want to develop and refine strategic approaches that guarantee AI advancements and improve communication effectiveness while examining ethical standards. Their research will provide practical insights for industry to help PR professionals ethically utilize AI technologies, thereby contributing to the development of ethical practices in strategic communication.

About the Berger Award

The Berger Award is an annual $2,500 award donated by longtime public relations academician Bruce Berger, Ph.D., professor emeritus and GSCC Executive Board Member, formerly with The Plank Center for Public Relations at the University of Alabama. The award focuses on data collection for PR research that analyzes the intersection of ethics and futurism in global strategic communication. It is given to researchers focusing on ethical considerations in strategic communication, future trends and challenges, innovative approaches to moral decision-making, implications of emerging technologies on communication ethics, leadership through challenges and crises, and responsible values management.

About the Researchers

 

About the Global Strategic Communication Consortium

Based at the University of South Carolina, the GSCC aims to advance strategic communication by focusing research on ethics, future challenges, AI and technological innovations, crises and challenges in the public relations field. Its membership is comprised of leading scholars from six continents.

For more information on the GSCC and the Berger Award, contact:

Shannon A. Bowen, Ph.D., Exec. Director
sbowen@sc.edu
803-777-3764 (O) 803-777-4103 (F)
X: @GlobalStratComm


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