Artificial Intelligence is the centerpiece of nearly every innovation action across the comms profession. Whether organizations are still actively engaged in “let’s find efficiencies” efforts or well into the “imagine if …” phase, the energy masks a larger truth: most organizations lack the internal mechanisms to truly embrace what AI offers. Transformation is required, yet what remains unexplored or unacknowledged is how deeply AI challenges the static nature of our organizations’ and institutions’ design.
This challenge evokes the societal upheavals of the 20th century, where rigid hierarchies crumbled in the face of rapid technological change. Yet, unlike the visible smokestacks and assembly lines, AI's transformation often occurs unseen, driven by changes in data and decision-making.
To bring AI into any organization, no matter how forward-thinking, change management must become part of the foundation. Even the simplest AI application requires a series of changes far more profound than updating policy documents or adjusting workflows. It means restructuring the DNA of the institution itself, not just in how it works but in how it thinks, moves, and redefines the relationship between technology and people.
Most organizations lack the muscle to flex when it comes to change. We see them experiment, but without a unified strategy, those efforts scatter, never fully realizing their potential. AI demands more than isolated pockets of innovation – it requires centralization and a thoughtful, orchestrated reimagining of the organization. Vision, values, and collaboration cannot remain stagnant; they must evolve alongside this transformation. Yet, organizations rarely focus on updating these softer aspects of their identity.
Technology changes often begin rolling out with updates to the letter of the law – policies, guidelines, procedural documents – but to truly integrate AI, institutions must go deeper. It’s not enough to update the operational rules; the spirit of the organization must shift. Without a transformation in culture – one that embraces experimentation, risk, and the unknown – AI remains a hollow promise. When organizations fail to engage their people in this process, they doom themselves to mediocrity. The workers on the ground must be more than passive users of new tools. They must be the creators, the experimenters, and the voices that shape how AI evolves within their environment.
We can structure our exploration as AI might process information:
[Prompt: Can you describe the current orientation of corporations and institutions around AI?]
- Static hierarchies
- Resistance to change
- Focus on efficiency over adaptation
[Prompt: What does overcoming these challenges require?]
- Restructuring institutional DNA
- Centralizing innovation strategy
- Evolving organizational culture
- Redefining employee roles and expectations
[Prompt: What would an AI-transformed organization look like?]
- Fluid, adaptive structures
- Continuous learning and experimentation
- Symbiosis of human creativity and AI capabilities
This framework reveals the cyclical nature of progress: as AI analyzes and optimizes our systems, we must in turn analyze and optimize our relationship with AI. The integration of AI into our organizational fabric demands more than technological adoption; it calls for a fundamental reimagining of human collaboration and purpose.
Yet, most organizations approach this revolution with outdated tools, attempting to patch new technologies onto crumbling foundations. We risk myopia, seeing AI as a mere productivity booster rather than a catalyst for wholesale reinvention.
Most recruitment strategies mirror what has always been done, asking people to fit into roles designed for a pre-AI world. Job descriptions stay static while the world transforms. To truly integrate AI, organizations must rethink what they ask of their employees. What once worked can no longer serve. Performance management, job duties, expectations – all of it needs to be redefined. Workers should actively engage with AI at a level that allows them to innovate, create, and push boundaries within their own fields.
[Prompt: What must we do to stay ahead even as everything changes rapidly around us?]
- Embrace experimentation and calculated risk-taking
- Foster a culture of lifelong learning
- Develop agile decision-making processes
- Cultivate trust between leadership and the workforce
Few organizations are taking these steps, channeling the imagination and courage to make this leap. Budget constraints, fear of failure, and an aversion to risk paralyze even the most innovative industries. The only way to get there and truly see AI integrated into the DNA of an organization is through leaders who trust their workforce and a workforce confident enough in itself to experiment, fail, and try again. The tools may evolve, but without a change in mindset, AI becomes a missed opportunity – a potential never fully realized. And we can all agree that collaborative organizations with magnetic cultures deliver outstanding performance and a great place to work.
[Input: What will institutions look like when we’ve made the transformation?]
- Organizations as living, learning entities
- Work as a canvas for human creativity and AI augmentation
- Innovation driven by a synergy of diverse perspectives
- Institutions that amplify human potential and societal progress
In essence, AI integration demands a holistic approach to institutional change. It calls for a reimagining of how organizations function, adapt, and grow. By embracing this challenge, we pave the way for a future where AI enhances human potential, driving innovation across all sectors of society.
In embracing this challenge, we have the opportunity to create institutions that are not just more efficient but more human organizations that amplify our creativity, nurture our growth, and expand the boundaries of what we believe possible. The future promised by AI will be realized not through technological determinism, but through a conscious, collective reimagining of our shared human enterprise.
Grant Toups is first global chief digital and intelligence officer at Burson, which won a 2024 SABRE award for Global Digital Agency of the Year. He leads a global team of professionals managing a suite of offerings including digital and social communications; reputation enhancement and defense; technology and AI advisory; and advanced intelligence, research, measurement and analytics. He is a member of the USC Center for PR board of advisers.
Michael Kittilson, a graduate student at USC Annenberg, leads editorial and research projects at the USC Center for Public Relations, where he collaborates with brands like Microsoft and StoryCorps. Focusing on crafting innovative, data-driven narratives, he helps organizations connect with a wide range of audiences across an evolving media landscape.