The IPA and ISBA have announced two guiding principles for the use of generative AI in advertising aimed to encourage more transparency in the sector.
Designed to ensure the industry embraces AI in an ethical way that protects both consumers and those working in the creative sector, the IPA’s new principles primarily to the creative process.
Points in the new charter highlight how AI should be ‘responsibly and ethical’, not in a manner ‘likely to undermined public trust in advertising’ and avoid ‘discrimination’
Other IPA principles focus on elements such as ensuring ‘human oversight and accountability’, considering ‘potential environmental impact’ and reiteration the continual ‘monitoring and evaluation of their use of AI’.
“The use of AI has grown exponentially in all industries, bringing with it huge opportunities as well as a wealth of new legal, regulatory and ethical challenges that need to be understood and addressed,” said IPA Richard Lindsay, director of legal and public affairs.
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“Generative AI will undoubtedly be transformative for our industry, but it is vital that it is used in an ethical, responsible, and legally compliant way.”
“These principles, which we have worked on with our colleagues at ISBA, are designed to help agencies and advertisers navigate that process and continue to produce outstanding creative work while taking advantage of the remarkable new tools available to them.”
ISBA director of public affairs, Rob Newman, added: “From individual brands to trade bodies, in sector after sector of the economy, people are scrambling to work out what the AI revolution means for them. In many ways, the jury is out.
“AI could help us create transformational marketing … or it could exacerbate existing crises in trust and transparency which already plague the industry.
“We’re pleased to have made this start on laying down some guardrails so that AI doesn’t create new problems, but contributes towards the trusted and responsible advertising environment that the public, regulators and lawmakers want to see.”
The new principles come amid other companies in the industry introducing AI charters and measures. Earlier this year, Ogilvy launched an ‘AI accountability Act’, shortly followed by purpose-driven strategic and creative agency GOOD publishing its own AI ‘FAIR’ charter.
