Real World Dialogue

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  • Resilience – Crisis Communication Culture and the AI Era

    Crisis Communication, Culture and AI

    An unwavering captain guiding us forward in a storm metaphorically describes how we think of great leaders. Globalization has contributed to the inevitability of crises and to navigate them, Presidents, Prime Ministers, CEO’s and managers have effectively used the following guidelines: (Edmondson, 2020). 

    • Communicating often with transparency.
    • Acting with urgency, despite incomplete information as inaction leaves people lost and unstable. 
    • Maintaining core values and purpose as a “guiding light” despite changing goals and situations. 
    • Asking for support and giving away power even when there is a tendency to maintain control. (Edmondson, 2020).

    The authors of Cultural Issues in crisis communication emphasize the necessity of understanding and “being aware of diverse world views, mindsets, and the habits of global publics in order to communicate effectively in crises situations” (Wertz & Kim, 2010. P. 85). Their research compares how Dr. Timothy Coomb’s crisis response strategies and messages differed between the United States and South Korea during similar crises (Wertz & Kim, 2010). A Harvard Business Review similarly mentions that multinational organizations should avoid imposing “single-culture-based” approaches on multicultural situations (Brett et al, 2006). 

    Building on this foundation, Dr. W. Timothy Coombs continues to explore how emerging technologies are reshaping crisis communication. During his keynote lecture, “Crisis Readiness in the AI Era,” he discussed how the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence—particularly Agentic AI and Generative AI—poses new challenges for crisis teams. Here is his lecture Crisis Readiness in the AI Era: ‘ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c5v8mtilsA

    Q: As far as you see, what are the main challenges for crisis management teams with the arrival of AI’s widespread use?

    “There’s always been the issue of noise in the digital environment. What’s noise and what really matters. How do I tell the difference between noise and what’s real-that’s going to be more challenging now with this Agentic AI.” (Agentic AI is artificial intelligence systems designed for autonomous operation, acting like independent agents that can plan, decide and execute tasks to achieve goals with minimal human intervention).

    So when you get feedback from Generative AI … there always has to be that final human check.”

    Dr. W. Timothy Coombs Crisis– Communication Researcher, Keynote Speaker, Consultant, and Trainer Advisory Board for the Centre for Crisis & Risk Communications and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management.

    References: 

    Brett, J. M. (2023, April 4). Managing Multicultural Teams. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2006/11/managing-multicultural-teams

    Edmondson, A. (2020). How to lead in a crisis.  TED, The way we work, October 2020.

    Wertz, E. K., & Kim, S. (2010). Cultural issues in crisis communication: A comparative study of messages chosen by South Korean and US print media. Journal of Communication Management, 14(1), 81-94.

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