What Generative AI Means for the Media Industries, and Why it Matters to Study the Collective Consequences for Advertising, Journalism, and Public Relations

Abstract

How should scholars make sense of the rapid growth of generative artificial intelligence in media work? In this commentary, we argue that researchers can begin by stepping outside of their intellectual silos to see how the challenges and opportunities posed by generative AI are commonly shared across the media industries. We focus on three primary mass communication domains—advertising, journalism, and public relations—to illustrate how media professionals across these fields are adopting similar AI technologies (e.g., machine learning, natural language processing, and recommender systems) for often similar purposes (e.g., content creation, audience engagement, and business operations). Even more, the uptake of AI has profound consequences—for ethical norms as well as roles and relationships of humans and machines—that may be best understood across media industries more so than within them in isolation. Ultimately, a more cross-industry approach to scholarship could develop a more encompassing picture about AI's impact on media work and media consumption.