By Order of General Ned Ludd

The whole Luddite thing is fascinating. They were knitters. They trained and apprenticed for years to master their craft. These craftspeople were justifiably proud of their products. They had legitimate concerns about the harm new technology might cause. They feared new knitting machines would turn out poor quality goods. They also didn’t want to lose their jobs. Furthermore, many of them worked at home and didn’t want to work in a factory. Does any of this sound familiar?

But here’s the deal: progress is gonna progress. The Luddites took up physical sledgehammers to try and resist the rise of the machines. (Fun Fact: those sledgehammers were nicknamed “Enochs” after a blacksmith who made such tools.) That effort didn’t work. And it won’t work for us.

There’s no shutting down generative AI in the foreseeable future. If ever. Heck, there’s precious little in the way of meaningful efforts to even attempt to regulate its use. PR educators, practitioners, and students must find a way to exist with it. Our metaphorical hammers must combine knowledge and strategy. Helping students understand the technology and its limitations is essential. Furthermore, PR students know not only how to use generative AI, but also when and if to use it.

PR students entering the workforce will have to deal with generative AI. We truly believe the way forward is for PR educators and practitioners to work closely together to better prepare our students. Hopefully, this site will help move the needle somewhat (no knitting pun intended).

Finally, please share your generative AI experiences with us:

Steve Ryan, MS, APR skryan@temple.edu

Gregg Feistman, MA gregg.feistman@temple.edu