Humanity Amplified: What PR Needs to Do Next
KUALA LUMPUR - As Malaysia upgrades its digital foundations, the job of PR and communications gets bigger, not easier. At the Global Public Relations Conference and Festival Malaysia 2025, Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil made it clear: tech can scale messages, but people create meaning.
"AI can create words, images and emotions, but only people can give them meaning, conscience and context."
Keep the work human-especially with AI in the mix
Tools are getting smarter. That doesn't guarantee better communication. Your edge is empathy, judgment, and trust-things no model can truly replicate.
The Minister's challenge to the industry is simple: make technology serve human values, not replace them.
Standards and ethics aren't optional
Fahmi urged the PR field to set a higher bar-professionally and morally. That includes stronger links with universities to build talent that's both tech-capable and principled.
- Codify your ethics policy. Publish it, train on it, and enforce it.
- Partner with universities for talent pipelines and research that you can apply in the field.
- Give teams real-world case studies on crisis, AI use, and disclosure.
Make transparency your default setting
The guidance was unambiguous: say what's synthetic, admit what's incomplete, and explain what's changed. Credibility compounds when you're honest before you're asked.
- Label AI-generated or AI-edited content clearly.
- Flag incomplete data with footnotes and update timelines.
- When facts change, guide audiences through the change-don't bury it.
For further context on disclosure practices, see Partnership on AI's guidance on synthetic media disclosure.
Policy guardrails you should track
Two frameworks were highlighted for information integrity and public safety:
- Malaysian Media Council (under the Malaysian Media Council Act 2025): An independent self-regulatory body to uphold journalistic ethics, encourage responsible reporting, and strengthen public confidence.
- Online Safety Act 2024: Stronger safety measures across platforms, clear labelling for AI-generated material, and better protection for vulnerable users, especially children.
These steps are about clarity and accountability, not control. Clear rules help citizens, creators, and companies move with confidence.
If your work touches youth audiences, it's worth reviewing child-safety best practices, such as UNICEF's AI for Children policy guidance.
Quarterly checklist for PR and comms leaders
- AI content policy: Define where AI can assist, where it can't, and how disclosure works. Keep a public-facing summary.
- Disclosure templates: Add standard lines for synthetic media, data gaps, and corrections to your style guide.
- Fact-change protocol: Set a process to notify stakeholders, update owned channels, and brief media when facts shift.
- Data notes: Include sources, limitations, and update cadence on all reports and dashboards.
- Safety reviews: Audit content flows for child-safety and misinformation risks before big launches.
- University linkups: Co-create modules on ethical AI, media literacy, and crisis comms with local programs.
- Trust metrics: Track sentiment, error correction speed, and disclosure rate-not just reach and impressions.
Skills worth investing in
- AI literacy for communicators: prompts, review workflows, and bias checks.
- Measurement that proves credibility, not just clicks.
- Story craft rooted in empathy and real audience needs.
- Stakeholder engagement that builds long-term confidence.
If you're leveling up your team's AI capability, explore practical training paths by job role at Complete AI Training.
Malaysia's voice on the global stage
The Minister urged communicators to present Malaysia's progress and values to the world. "Communications are our soft power. Through your stories, the world will see a Malaysia that is progressive, inclusive and confident."
That starts with truth, context, and care for your audience. Keep the tech. Lead with the human.
Your membership also unlocks:
