Think Forward

There’s a moment - sometimes a split second, sometimes a drawn-out agony - when truth teeters on the edge of convenience. It’s in that moment that courage and cowardice define themselves.

It started on January 20th, the moment Donald Trump returned to power. Thousands were fired. Data was seized. Musk was sent in, his team of young digital henchmen given free rein to strip government systems, lifting what they wanted, destroying what they didn’t. One by one, websites disappeared, archives vanished and the history of the United States - the infrastructure of accountability - was thrown into the shredder.

The last few weeks have seen the cool kids adopting and playing with DeepSeek and its latest AI model out of China. Released in late 2024, DeepSeek’s R1 was developed as a response to existing limitations and challenges of AI models. It aims to set new benchmarks in accessibility and advanced reasoning capabilities - and I have to say, it is very good indeed.

As the sun sets on this “Last Gentle Sunday,” I'm watching the closing of the day and reflecting on a troublesome dawn. Tomorrow sees the inauguration of Donald Trump’s second presidency, a moment that will set the tone for global politics in ways both predictable and deeply troubling. It’s a moment sure to be frozen in U.S. history. An icy blast that shocks the world, spreading chilling consequences for global stability and international relations. And as we reflect, we must also consider how the contagion of political opportunism, autocracy and oligarchy is already affecting our world.

Every January, the predictions market throws open its doors. Economists, analysts and commentators place their bets on the year ahead - where markets will rise and fall, how society will shift, which crises will escalate and which unforeseen events will take centre stage. Once, this flurry of forecasting was triggered by the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report, a weighty tome that arrives mid-to-late January, outlining what might go wrong (and, occasionally, right) in the years ahead. But these days, the gates burst open early, with speculation running rampant from day one.

There was a time when billionaires meddling in democracy would have been considered a scandal. A time when mainstream media acted as a filter, a check against the wealthy and powerful using their platforms to distort public discourse. But today, we are watching in real-time as media organisations - social and traditional mainstream - give Elon Musk an unchallenged megaphone to amplify extreme right-wing ideologies, conspiracy theories and political interference. Worse, they are helping normalise it all.

Closing out the year with congratulations to all those who have achieved their PR Knowledge Hub AI in PR Capability Certification

Once upon a time, storytelling was the heartbeat of human connection. Today, artificial intelligence has entered the scene seemingly the villain of the piece - but who is the real baddy? And what can we do to reclaim our stories?

Some thoughts and reflections on this year's World Public Relations Forum in Bali - the learning, the people and the connections we made

Catherine Arrow, Executive Director of PR Knowledge Hub wins Global Public Relations Practitioner of the Year

What if, over time, your personal AI assistant at your current employment is sent to an interview on your behalf with a future employer? Would you trust it to represent you? Can it truly learn just who you are?

The AI landscape is constantly shifting thanks to the constant flood of updates carving new pathways through terrain we've only just begun to map. OpenAI’s latest developments—ChatGPT-4 Turbo, Canvas, GPT-4o, and the o1 series—are the newest tools to help us navigate these waters, with Canvas the latest tributary, bubbling into general consciousness just six days ago.