Expert urges caution as AI transforms advertising landscape

A marketing expert is sounding warning bells over a lack of attention paid to the “dark side” of artificial intelligence-powered advertising.

Lauren Labrecque and her colleagues published research showing that just about 10% of articles mentioning AI in high-ranking marketing journals addressed the potential harms of using AI in advertising.

“Marketers have jumped on it in so many ways,” Labrecque said Wednesday. She is a professor at the University of Rhode Island who studies technology in marketing.

Labrecque wrote an article for The Conversation about her study, in which she said AI has revolutionized the way companies market their products and enabled them to target consumers in personalized and interactive ways.

Ads, emails, and social media posts can all be made or enhanced with AI.

Labrecque said the articles in the marketing journals they reviewed “are touting that it’s cheaper, it’s more efficient, you can do better targeting. But how are people going to react? And how is that potentially (going to) harm people in ways?”

Just 33 of the 290 marketing journal articles weighed the ethical considerations for AI adoption.

Marketers are excited about the new AI tools at their disposal but need to slow down and consider whether they’re doing right by consumers, Labrecque said.

Most folks probably don’t think about how inundated they are by AI-powered marketing efforts. Watching a show on Netflix? AI helps the algorithm push certain shows to you. Shopping on Amazon, Walmart, or any number of sites? AI shows you product suggestions. Use a chatbot for help on a website? You’re likely interacting with AI.

“It would be a stretch to find many companies who are not using AI in some way, whether it be simply helping them craft more effective social media posts to … Coca-Cola creating their whole new Christmas ad, just AI-generated,” Labrecque said.

A lack of transparency, misinformation and manipulation are all concerns.

AI has the potential in marketing to perpetuate harmful stereotypes, infringe on the individual rights of artists or negatively affect mental health with AI-powered beauty filters, Labrecque said.

Some companies have been using AI to create models instead of hiring real models, she said.

“What are the potential ramifications of that?” Labrecque said.

Consumers need to have “healthy skepticism” these days about what they’re seeing from marketers, she said, and companies need to establish internal guardrails to protect both them and their customers from negative ramifications.

“It’s kind of like the Wild, Wild West” in terms of controlling the new AI technology in marketing, Labrecque said.

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