Fireside ChatRegular Spin Sucks readers have gathered by now that I’m a bit obsessed with the potential artificial intelligence has for the future of the PR profession.

That’s why I am so excited to have Christopher Penn join us for our second Fireside Chat.

He gives us a crash course in artificial intelligence and how it will change PR in the next three to five years.

I should also note that I have spent the past several years trying to get him to smile.

Challenge. Accepted.

Fireside Chat: Artificial Intelligence with Christopher Penn

Here’s the outline we started with for our conversation:

  1. When many people think of artificial intelligence, they think of the Terminator. So let’s start off by having you define artificial intelligence and machine learning in the context of their current business applications.
  2. Are robots going to take our jobs?
  3. Where does AI and machine learning have the biggest opportunity for PR professionals?
  4. At INBOUND, you and I were talking about IBM Watson, which I know is an area of particular interest for you. Can you share what you told me?
  5. How does a small business explore using AI without a big budget? What kind of team do you need in place?

My favorite parts of the conversation were:

  1. His use of the idea of “digital LEGOS” in his very approachable explanation of machine learning.
  2. What PR pros need to do in the next five years to stay employable.
  3. How his team is using Watson to analyze media coverage and gain insight into how people feel about the brand, and journalist preferences, going well beyond the traditional sentiment analysis.

Your heads are going to explode, both with the opportunities and the challenges.

Enjoy the conversation…and let us know what you think!

(If you can’t view the video below, click here and you’ll be magically transported to YouTube to watch it.)

Gini Dietrich

Gini Dietrich is the founder, CEO, and author of Spin Sucks, host of the Spin Sucks podcast, and author of Spin Sucks (the book). She is the creator of the PESO Model and has crafted a certification for it in partnership with Syracuse University. She has run and grown an agency for the past 15 years. She is co-author of Marketing in the Round, co-host of Inside PR, and co-host of The Agency Leadership podcast.

View all posts by Gini Dietrich