Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents a ‘double-edged sword’ for the communication industry, and professionals who fail to master it as a tool for truth risk being overwhelmed by those who weaponize it for misinformation. This was the urgent message from Filipina PR leader Ana Pista, APR, during an international guest lecture here on Monday.
Ana Pista (standing) delivers her lecture at the LSPR Institute of Communication and Business in Jakarta
Pista, Founder and CEO of Ardent Communications (ArdentComm), CEO of AI Centre of Excellence (ACE), and Vice President for Internal Affairs of the Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP), delivered her talk, “How Communication Can Change the World in the Age of AI,” at the LSPR Institute of Communication and Business. She highlighted that the rapid adoption of AI across Asia brings both groundbreaking innovation and pressing ethical questions.
“It helps us move faster, reach wider, and decide smarter,” Pista said of AI’s integration into public relations. “But PR is still about people — and AI should always enhance, not replace, the human connection.”
Beyond familiarity: Why communicators must master AI
Pista urged communication professionals — especially young practitioners — to go beyond surface-level literacy and embrace AI as a core competency. “If I were hiring,” she explained, I would want a master of communication — and part of that mastery today is knowing how to use AI.”
This call for mastery is timely. A 2025 study by Ahrefs, which analyzed nearly 900,000 newly created English-language web pages, found that over 70% contained AI-generated content.
For PR professionals, this flood of automated content demands for sharper judgment and accountability.
Pista stressed that the debate over AI adoption is over, noting that from boutique agencies to global firms, everyone is using AI because it is cost-effective and delivers results. What will set professionals apart is not whether they use AI, but how responsibly and creatively they use it.
The double-edged sword: AI’s role in ethics and misinformation
While AI unlocks new possibilities, Pista cautioned against its misuse.
From political manipulation to deepfakes and the exploitation of personal data, AI can also amplify risks. She warned, “Tools can be used for good and for bad. Right now, many are using them for the bad. Even professionals like me sometimes struggle to distinguish what is real from what is fake.”
She emphasized the need for ethical frameworks, especially in fast-digitizing societies like the Philippines and Indonesia. Her recommendations include: 1) Prioritizing privacy in compliance with laws such as the Philippines’ Data Privacy Act; 2) Being transparent about AI-generated content to preserve public trust; and 3) Establishing standard operating procedures (SOPs) and training programs to validate AI outputs.
These steps, she said, are critical in ensuring that AI supports — not undermines — credibility and trust in communications.
Ana Pista and participants pose for a souvenir photo
Reimagining PR: From crisis response to trust-building
Looking ahead, Pista highlighted AI’s potential to reshape PR from content-driven output to outcome-driven strategy, pointing to opportunities in predictive trend modeling and crisis management.
“The true success of AI lies in its ability to enhance human experiences while respecting autonomy and amplifying collaboration,” she concluded.
Her call to action resonated strongly with the students and professionals in attendance, who left with a renewed vision of AI — not as a threat, but as a powerful ally in building trust and shaping narratives.
