AI must be used correctly and respect artists along the way if it is to be an asset for the creative sector, according to a new report from the Advertising Association.

Entitled ‘Advertising and AI: Showcasing applications and responsible use’, the report explored the practical issues and opportunities associated with AI, as well as regulation, sustainability and ethics.

It included contributions from a range of agencies as well as players such as Google and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

Discussing the regulatory questions around artificial intelligence as part of its contribution to the report, the ASA highlighted how its Active Ad Monitoring System has contributed to highlighting the role of the tech in helping it to tackle gambling, vaping, prescription only medicine and influencer disclosure.

Google EMEA advertising industry relations manager Yves Schwarzbart said: “Advertising as a whole has not only been an early adopter of many of the advances made by AI, but also been a clear leader in applying the technology.”

“Generative AI’s ability to let everyone tap into its hugely promising creative potential has perhaps been its most dramatic impact on the advertising industry to date and this report highlights some great work in this space,” he continued.

What are the risks associated with AI?

Some of the risks associated, outlined by Behave agency in the report, include numerous components and the ability of small changes to have unforeseen consequences.

It also highlighted that outputs can influence their own inputs, which further complicates long-term implications, adding that the constant evolution of AI requires ethical frameworks to constantly evolve.

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How can AI be used responsibly in advertising?

The report made a set of suggestions which act as a checklist for how to use AI responsibly in advertising:

• Implement robust ethics that prioritise consent and accountability
• Consider implications of intellectual property, bias and fairness
• Foster transparency – for example explore how AI is being used
• View AI as a means of enhancing human creativity rather than replacing it
• Develop clear and high quality prompts and create rich training data for AI models.
• Provide educational resources for AI

Agency Spark Foundry highlighted that despite concern about the environmental impact of AI, in terms of sustainability AI could result in lower carbon footprints.

It highlighted the importance of beginning with a benchmark understanding of current carbon emissions, and then utilising both human creativity and AI to be creative with lower emissions.

VCCP, which launched its own AI creative agency faith, it also highlighted that it does not ask generative AI to copy an artist’s style without their involvement, and said it may provide a range of references.

“In 2023 VCCP launched its generative AI agency, faith, based on the founding principle that we have faith that AI, used responsibly, will be an unparallelled accelerator of human creativity and imagination,” said VCCP managing partner Alex Dalman.

“We hope our work with the Advertising Association’s AI Taskforce and this report will help with a more widespread and responsible adoption of AI – and hopefully inspire others embarking on their AI journey,” he continued.