A media landscape without elaborate articles on Industry 4.0, Artificial Intelligence and self-driving cars is hardly imaginable at the moment. Judging from the current reporting, technological utopia seems to be just around the corner: Thanks to technical advancement, not only hard physical work and wasted lifetime in traffic, but also wrong decisions will soon belong to the analog past. No matter whether it is investments, recruiting or medical diagnostics, in all areas of life Artificial Intelligence will protect error prone humans from themselves by taking care of the decision-making.
These trend topics are also hotly discussed within companies. Nevertheless, many businesses hesitate to use the current momentum for their press work and take part in the public discussion. While they are enthusiastic about new technology, they are still not blind to its risks and limits and doubt that their critical voice will be heard in the overall chorus of praise.
A missed chance from a PR point of view.
The role of the critic is perhaps less fun than that of the enthusiastic optimist - but it offers promising opportunities for effective press work. Therefore, the advice to every realist: Sharpen your critical opinion into compelling arguments and use them strategically to position your company in the media.
Constructive criticism sends the important message to your target group that you are familiar with current developments and assess their added value for your investors, customers or business partners with a healthy amount of scepticism. This immediately earns your company some brownie points in terms of customer trust.
If you take a clear stand, the editors will also thank you. Good journalism depends on different perspectives and opinions. Critical voices of experts and business personalities on hyped topics help journalists to stand out amidst the general press euphoria and offer their readers a well-balanced coverage. Thus, swimming against the tide increases your chances of being present in the media.
The Frankfurt-based fund boutique First Private, for example, voiced its critical view on the application of Artificial Intelligence in asset management and thereby generated coverage in leading financial and business publications such as Handelsblatt or Das Investment.
