A former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, has warned public relations practitioners that Artificial Intelligence (AI) can make deception, manufactured public opinion and political manipulation easier, and urged them to examine the ethical implications of their communication strategies.
Ezekwesili said the public relations profession should decide whether it would use emerging technologies to strengthen democratic discourse or become an instrument for manipulating public perception.
The keynote speaker at the 26th NECCI PR Roundtable last Friday in Lagos, Ezekwesili said that the distinction between legitimate persuasion and deception was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain in the age of AI.
Speaking under the theme, ‘Algorithmic Influence and Public Relations: AI, Information Integrity and the Ethics of Democratic Discourse in Nigeria’, the economic policy expert, advocate for transparency, accountability, good governance, said that public relations has always involved influencing public perception and such influence is not inherently wrong because businesses, governments and citizens all rely on persuasion to communicate their interests.
However, the human capital development, humanitarian and activist warned that the profession crossed an ethical boundary when reputation management became an attempt to manipulate reality or manufacture public consent.
‘There is a thin line between persuasion and deception, between managing a reputation and manipulating reality, between strategic communication and manufactured consent’, she said.
Ezekwesili alleged that significant resources deployed in algorithmic manipulation in Nigeria passed through communication budgets, influencer networks, paid trends and digital strategists.
She said that some communication professionals were involved in promoting one narrative in the morning and an opposing narrative later in the day, depending on the interests of their clients.
The former minister warned that AI had reduced the cost and increased the speed at which misleading content could be produced and circulated.
She cited cloned voices, fabricated videos and artificially generated online supporters as examples of how technology could be used to create the impression of widespread public agreement.
According to her, the ability to manufacture content cheaply creates incentives for continuous manipulation, particularly when the objective is to attract attention rather than improve public understanding.
She challenged practitioners to recognise that their professional responsibilities extended beyond satisfying clients to protecting the interests of citizens and the wider society.
Ezekwesili proposed four tests for public relations professionals to apply before accepting communication assignments.
The first, which she called the disclosure test, asks whether a campaign would remain acceptable if the audience knew who funded it and whether artificial intelligence was used to produce its content.
The second is the symmetry test, which requires practitioners to consider whether they would accept the same communication tactics if they were deployed against their own clients.
The third, the amplification test, asks whether a campaign increases what Nigerians know or merely intensifies what they feel.
The fourth is the citizen test, which requires practitioners to consider what citizens need to know to participate meaningfully in democratic governance before deciding what a client wants them to believe.
She maintained that public relations practitioners have the capacity not only to contribute to the spread of misinformation, but also to help repair the damage caused by it.
Ezekwesili therefore urged the PR practitioners to embrace transparency, professional accountability and ethical standards in the deployment of artificial intelligence.
‘You, the practitioners, are the unpaid staff of the citizens’, she told the gathering, stressing that communication professionals have a responsibility to protect public interest.
She also warned that AI has made it possible for individuals and organisations to manufacture convincing but false information at little or no cost.
Among the examples she cited were cloned voices, fabricated videos and artificially generated online accounts designed to create the impression that a particular opinion enjoyed widespread support.
Ezekwesili described the emerging situation as an age of ‘plausible denial’, in which genuine evidence could be dismissed as artificial intelligence-generated content.
She said the danger was no longer limited to convincing people to believe false information, but also included making it increasingly difficult for the public to establish what was genuine.
Earlier, the Convener of NECCI PR Roundtable, Dr. Nkechi Ali-Balogun explained that the concept of the conversation, which is now heading towards its 27th edition, was to ensure that public relations professionals not only manage messages, but also lead the national discourse.
She rationalised this year’s theme: ‘This year, we confront a question that touches every one of us: when machines decide what we see, who is really shaping the Nigerian mind? Who now controls the flow of information that shapes what Nigerians believe? This year, we confront a question that touches every one of us: when machines decide what we see, who is really shaping the Nigerian mind? Who now controls the flow of information that shapes what Nigerians believe?
‘We live in a rapidly changing world powered by AI, where a single algorithm can shape political narratives, fuel conspiracy theories, and dictate what millions read, believe, and share, way before journalists or PR professionals can intervene. Artificial intelligence is no longer a mere idea; it is actively reshaping public conversations, campaigns, and discourse by curating biased content, spreading disinformation, and creating echo chambers. As our nation approaches another electoral cycle, the integrity of the information our people receive is inseparable from the integrity of our democracy.
‘For 26 years, the NECCI PR Roundtable has remained an independent platform, and we have been known to deliver on our promises. To sustain that standard, we need more partners who share our vision. I therefore appeal to the corporate organisations, government agencies, financial institutions and development partners represented here today: come and partner with us’.
