BOULDER - Advertising and public-relations executives at a BizWest CEO Roundtable on Tuesday agreed that artificial intelligence is a powerful tool, but the human element remains irreplaceable. The discussion, featuring leaders from 12 agencies, emphasized that AI should support creative work, not replace the critical thinking, originality, and strategic judgment that clients demand.
Boulder is well-positioned for the AI era. A study by flexible-workplace company Hubble released this week ranked the city fourth in the nation for AI readiness. The researchers found that 49.8% of metro Boulder university graduates earned STEM degrees, tech jobs density is high at 86.3 per 1,000 residents, and the area has 68.7 innovation-oriented tech companies per 1,000 businesses - the third-highest concentration in the study.
AI as a tool, not a crutch
"This is not a thing that solves all the hard problems of this business for you," said Doyle Albee, co-founder and managing partner of Prolexity. "It's a thing that gives you the unprecedented ability to find new opportunities." Andrew Holliday, founder of Special Sauce, added that the best approach is to "use it as a tool, not a crutch."
JC Longbottom, president of Sterling-Rice Group, observed that his employees fall into three groups: those fully engaged in AI's evolution, those who see it as an efficiency shortcut, and a dwindling group of resistors worried about quality. "I want creative thinkers who don't see the tool as a threat," he said.
Gina Lee De Freitas, president of Visiqua and Local Hero, raised a concern about the next generation. "How do we make sure that the next generation of the workforce still has critical thinking?" she asked. "You hear about all the stories of school-age children who have over-reliance on AI and not thinking through the problem." John Weiss, co-founder and CEO of Human Design, added, "The human element needs to stay in."
Educating clients and safeguarding brand integrity
Client education is a growing priority. Kuvy Ax, founder and owner of Root Marketing and PR, said, "How do we educate people who barely understand what AI is at all that AI doesn't replace PR. It makes PR all the more important." For PR professionals, staying current on AI for PR & Communications is becoming a baseline requirement.
Weiss described a split in client attitudes. Larger clients are "really scared for brand integrity and brand safety. They're worried about being co-opted, deepfakes, brand reputation." Smaller clients, in contrast, are "reckless and moving at a thousand miles an hour, and wanting to put out as much quantity as they can."
David Schiff, partner and creative director for brand strategy at Standard Practice Advertising, noted that AI is just the latest in a long line of predictions that the industry would become obsolete. "It's just one of the 20 reasons we've been told that this business will no longer be viable, which I've been hearing since 2004 and the launch of Facebook," he said.
The demand for human originality
The executives stressed that AI-generated content is not yet indistinguishable from human work. "You can completely tell when something is not authentic, when it's not believable, and when it's not trustworthy," said Lori Jones, president and CEO of Avocet Communications. She added that many self-proclaimed thought leaders are exposed by their reliance on "a really cool AI prompt."
Don Poe, CEO of People Productions, said that attribution is less important than the quality of the final product. "I assume everyone's using it to a degree, and they're going to stand behind the quality of it with their reputation," he said. "Have a copywriter or designer review it."
Patrick Mallek, founder of Mighty Fudge Studios, offered a grounding perspective. "There's no such thing as AI," he said. "It's just little pieces of technology that are being used in different ways in different industries. AI can only know what we know as humans. If humans don't push the ball forward, it's stuck where it's at right now." His guiding principle for his team: "Learn how to do it right, as a human. Then use the tools."
Why this matters for PR and communications professionals
The roundtable made clear that AI will not replace the need for strategic thinking, creativity, and client counsel. For PR and communications professionals, the priority is to master AI as a tool while doubling down on the human skills that build trust and originality. An AI Learning Path for Public Relations Specialists can help practitioners develop the technical knowledge to guide clients and lead teams through the technology's rapid evolution. The future belongs to those who can blend AI's efficiency with the irreplaceable human touch.
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