Everybody seems to be enthralled with ChatGPT and the technology is indeed impressive. The chatbot is passing all kinds of graduate level exams, and educational institutions are rushing to devise policies to prevent students from cheating on assessments using the program. ChatGPT can even write scientific abstracts and research papers that fool scientists into thinking that they are real reports. Some users, however, have reported that the chatbot cited non-existent academic journal articles as source material. Amidst all this buzz, we recently conducted our own simple and non-iterative queries to test how the program fares with written texts, which are bread-and-butter products for the communications and PR industry. We noticed that prompts generated texts that included a few paragraphs at most and were short on e.g., persuasive arguments or supporting evidence.

When ChatGPT debuted, it literally stopped the internet. Developed by OpenAI, GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) is a machine learning model that uses a transformer neural network to generate natural language text. According to OpenAI, ChatGPT has had more than 1 million users since its debut within a few days of its launch on November 30, 2022. Fifteen days later, more than two million users were already testing OpenAI's service. People everywhere were sharing their results on Twitter, LinkedIn and other channels.

Much of a professional communicator's work depends on tech that helps companies communicate with their stakeholders, create awareness and drive conversions among consumers, and track the results of their efforts. While every industry is bound to be affected by technology trends that continue to emerge in the new year, those working in the field of professional communications stand to feel the impact of recent technological advances, developments and use cases more than others. The experts of Forbes Communications Council have their fingers on the pulse of the latest movements in comms-related tech, and their insights can help communications and marketing teams make smart choices about which tools and resources to invest in and leverage in 2022. Here, 11 of them offer their best predictions as to which technologies will most impact professional communications in the coming year. Forbes Communications Council members share tech trends that will impact professional communications in 2022.

Are professional communicators at risk of being replaced by machines? Can corporate, and perhaps even marketing, communications be performed by software? Or is communication something we deem to be exclusively human? Do we feel immune from the forces of artificial intelligence (AI) because we believe only humans possess the ability to create things like irony, nuance or even humor? These are pretty serious questions.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is going to change the way we do business and work as communication professionals. In fact, the revolution has already begun. For communication professionals, it promises to take care of all the mundane tactical activities we currently handle, freeing us to focus on demonstrating our value through the more strategic activities that machines cannot--like influencing the C-suite, connecting our organization's audiences and stakeholders and creating meaning in a world fraught with change. But we can't afford to wait any longer. When our organizations seek advice on how best to communicate about AI, we need to be ready to ask the right questions and advise on the right approach. We also need to know what technology is being used and how it will impact on our organizations' stakeholders.

The 2019 trend articles are numerous, and AI is one topic of many. What we love is the excitement out there, illustrated by one headline for an article discussing AI and marketing: "What is AI and why is it awesome?" That's fantastic, because it is awesome, and as communication professionals we must get involved in the'awesomeness'. No time to watch and wait, it's time to do our bit in ensuring our organisations can implement AI successfully--for the success of the business, stakeholders, clients and customers and importantly, our employees. While the debate continues on how much technology and AI will affect our everyday lives, AI's lack of creativity when compared to the human mind, and the potential for routine jobs to become redundant, there are plenty of companies moving their AI models from the lab and into production. Yes, the debate will continue, but as an article from PwC in the USA suggests, businesses can't wait for the dust to settle, AI adoption will accelerate in 2019.

In a world constantly disrupted by technological advances, how can we make sure we're the ones making change, and that change isn't, in a sense, making us? That was a question posited by keynote speaker and futurist Anab Jain at the International Association of Business Communicators' (IABC) World Conference on June 4 in Montréal. Jain, a filmmaker, designer and educator, focuses her work on imagining many possible eventualities. Jain's design firm Superflux creates films, public art and prototypes that aim to "trace threads to the future." Communicators and creators, Jain told IABC attendees, are responsible for considering multiple future contexts for the things we build. "It feels as if the world around us is increasing in technological complexity, but it's becoming harder for us to comprehend," Jain said.

I have seen a glimpse of the future impact of artificial intelligence on corporate communications – and it is good. AI will bring a new level of trust to information, improve the way information is delivered (i.e., via augmented reality and virtual reality apps) and provide better insights and predictive analytics for decision making by corporate communications professionals. My exposure to artificial intelligence has primarily been in the trusted identity technology industry, where AI is starting to revolutionize the digitization of identity and access management, physical access control and cybersecurity, especially as a proactive approach to threat and fraud detection. The management of identities, either physical or digital, is changing rapidly, requiring new ways of thinking to add trust. Trust is an important topic for corporate communications, too. If people do not trust the information coming from a corporation, credibility is lost.

No matter your industry, chances are your current or immediate future will be impacted by artificial intelligence. And when you touch as many sectors as we do as a PR agency, it's clear just how greatly this rapidly developing area of technology is impacting businesses across the spectrum. While Artificial Intelligence is primarily understood based on major consumer applications (think Waze, customer service chat bots or Alexa voice command), its implications are becoming both notable and increasingly significant in the sphere of business-to-business. Across such B2B sectors as professional services, financial services and more, our clients are engaging with AI from multiple perspectives – including internally with their employees and externally with their clients and partners. For those of you working in similar fields, we break down just a few of the components of how AI is impacting B2B – as well as how to optimize its impact on communications strategy. A recent report from Gartner predicts that Artificial Intelligence will be a top-five investment priority for more than 30 percent of CIOs by 2020.

Today, Artificial Intelligence is a becoming reality for marketing and communications professionals. AI has the potential today to empower marketing teams with new insights -- enabling faster and more informed decision making. Yet how should marketing and communications teams approach AI and incorporate in their day-to-day activities? Download Zignal's White Paper and learn how marketers and communications professionals can: