On the Tech Trek and Industrial Revolutions: Unravelling the Impact of Generative AI on Public Relations Praxis in Africa

Abstract

This study holds substantial significance as it represents a pioneering continent-wide empirical endeavor to comprehend the extent to which public relations (PR) professionals value and engage with Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) technologies and the consequential impact they exert on the praxis of the profession in Africa. The study assumes a qualitative approach with data collected from in-house and agency PR professionals across the major economic blocks in Africa. Beyond unearthing the benefits and threats, we also found practical, socio-cultural, and ethical implications of the influx of GenAI technologies, based upon which we proffered valuable recommendations for both practice and scholarly pursuits. We make a central argument that even though there is a high adoption and usage of GenAIs among PR professionals in Africa, there are currently no ethical policies guiding its usage, and this threatens the professions’ quest to be transparent and accountable to their clients and publics.