From Principles to Practice: Internalizing IPRA and Global Alliance’ AI Guiding Principles Through the 3H Model

 By Ishola N. Ayodele

As I navigate the closing days of 2025, I see a digital landscape pulsing with unprecedented energy. Artificial intelligence has not merely entered public relations and communication; it has woven itself into its very fabric, reshaping how narratives are created, analysed, amplified, and consumed. According to the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management, a staggering 91% of organisations worldwide now permit the use of AI in communication practice.

Yet a sobering reality that shadows this innovation: only 39.4% of these organisations have implemented any responsible framework for the use of AI. Adoption has raced ahead; governance has limped behind.

This imbalance triggered an awakening across professional bodies especially among communication professionals who understand that trust is the currency of our craft. The central question became unavoidable: How do we embrace this powerful technology without eroding credibility, damaging relationships, or surrendering our ethical soul?

According to Spokespersonsdigest, a defining moment came in October 2023, when the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) unveiled a comprehensive framework for navigating AI in professional practice, what it called the Five IPRA AI and PR Guidelines. These were not technological prescriptions; they were ethical anchors.

1.      To act with honesty and integrity, by determining in advance when AI-generated content will be used in external communication, and ensuring that such use aligns strictly with professional guidelines.

2.      To be open and transparent, by clearly disclosing AI-generated content and complying with all regulatory and style guidelines relating to AI identification and attribution.

3.      To honour confidential and copyrighted information, through deliberate staff training on what constitutes sensitive data, avoiding the entry of confidential information into AI tools, and refraining from using AI-generated content derived from copyrighted material.

4.      To ensure truth and accuracy, by subjecting all AI-generated content to rigorous human fact-checking, correction, and bias removal by professionals with relevant expertise.

5.      To avoid the dissemination of misleading information, by exercising utmost care to prevent misinformation and ensuring that any inadvertent errors are corrected promptly and transparently.

These guidelines signalled an important truth: AI may be fast, but ethics must be deliberate.

That global momentum reached a decisive inflection point in May 2025, when the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management advanced the conversation further. At the historic Venice Symposium, the Alliance introduced the Seven Responsible AI Guiding Principles, later ratified through the Venice Pledge and co-signed by 24 member organisations, including Nigeria’s NIPR.

These principles elevated the discourse from how to use AI to how to govern it responsibly.

It was against this global backdrop that the final Mandatory Continuous Professional Development (MCPD) programme of 2025 of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations became far more than a routine professional gathering. It was a seismic rumble across our professional landscape. Titled “PR Power Lunch: Advancing Responsible AI Practice,” the session spotlighted the Global Alliance’s Seven Responsible AI Guiding Principles not as abstract doctrine, but as an urgent call to action.

Here are the 7 Principles from my perspective as an African

 

1.      Ethics First:

AI must adhere to unwavering ethical standards, aligning with Global Alliance codes. In Africa, this echoes the Akan proverb: "The ruin of a nation begins in the homes of its people." Ethical lapses, like AI perpetuating colonial-era biases in media narratives, ruin trust from within. Nigerian PR professionals, through NIPR, champion this by prioritizing integrity over hasty innovation.

 

2.      Human-Led Governance:

Human oversight must govern AI, addressing privacy, bias, and disinformation. As Africa's data scarcity breeds opaque models, glass-box transparency open to scrutiny like a village elder's counsel becomes essential. Governance here means communal deliberation, ensuring AI respects diverse stakeholder voices.

 

3.      Personal and Organizational Responsibility:

 Professionals own AI outputs, demanding rigorous fact-checking and education. In high-stakes environments like Kenya's vibrant media landscape, where misinformation can ignite unrest, this principle calls for diligence akin to the Maasai warrior's vigilance owning every action to protect the community.

 

4.      Awareness, Openness, and Transparency:

Disclose AI involvement openly, with attribution. In Africa's oral cultures, transparency mirrors the griot's truthful storytelling: "A lie may travel for a moon but truth will overtake it." PR teams must declare AI's role in campaigns, building trust amid rising deepfake threats.

 

5.      Education and Professional Development:

Continuous learning is a core competency. With Africa's youth bulge driving innovation, associations like the African Public Relations Association must lead up-skilling, collaborating with bodies like FERPI to create curricula that blend global tools with local wisdom.

 

6.      Active Global Voice:

PR professionals advocate for equitable AI, shaping governance. African voices from Nigeria to South Africa must amplify in international forums, ensuring AI addresses continental challenges like digital divides, turning advocates into architects of inclusive futures.

 

7.      Human-Centered AI for the Common Good:

Champion AI that promotes societal well-being and equity. In Africa, this means tools tackling unemployment, climate resilience, or health equity augmenting intention toward ubuntu, where AI fosters prosperity for all, mindful of environmental impacts in vulnerable ecosystems.

Principles without practice are powerless.

These seven principles are like the baobab tree; vast, ancient, and life-giving. But no one benefits from its shade by admiring it from a distance. To gain from it, we must gather under it. Responsible AI must therefore move beyond awareness into practice, and practice begins with internalization.

The real question before us is no longer whether AI will shape public relations, it already has. The defining question is whether we will shape AI with intention, ethics, and responsibility, or allow it to reshape our profession in ways that erode trust. And this is where my 3H Model becomes essential.

 

AI as Augmented Intentions

The Core Philosophy behind my 3H Model as articulated in my article in July this year (2025) titled ‘Strategic Use of AI Tools in PR Campaigns and Reputation Management’ was that AI is a double-edge sword which extends human purpose, amplifies creativity and equity when ethically directed but diverted from its human source, it floods like a wayward river, eroding trust.

As a 2025 PRWeek and Boston University survey of 719 professionals reveals, while 71% of PR pros leverage AI for innovation, ethical lapses like bias and misinformation persist in 55% of firms lacking policies. The Ishola’s 3H Model counters this by grounding AI in human essence.

It is only by grounding AI in human essence that we can internalize the Global Alliance’s Seven Responsible AI Guiding Principles for implementation. No matter the conviction of a driver on his driving prowess, the car will not move without fuel. Therefore, pledge and commitment alone will not drive implementation of these seven Responsible AI Guiding Principles but internalization. And this is why the 3H Model is so crucial.  

 

Ishola’s 3H Model 

Here is a short explanation of the 3H Model (I recommend reading the article for in-depth understanding)

HEAD: The Mind Before the Machine

Human before algorithm. That is before we prompt AI, we must prompt ourselves with intentionality. Here is how to do it:

 

1. Human Intelligence First

Obama’s speeches didn’t begin with AI; they began with empathy. His team identified collective anxieties and aspirations before digital refinement.

AI is the chisel, but you must be the sculptor, visualizing the form before the first cut.

 

2. AI as Compass, Not Captain

Coca-Cola uses AI to scan sentiment, but human strategists interpret why a campaign resonates in Manila but fails in Mumba.

AI identifies trends; humans give them meaning.

 

3. Psychology Over Processing

Nike’s “You Can’t Stop Us” was emotionally architected using Maslow and identity theory, AI stitched the footage, but humans built the soul.

As neuroscientist Antonio Damasio reminds us: “We are not thinking machines that feel, we are feeling machines that think.”

Thus, use AI as a draftsman, not as the architect.

 

4. Test, Taste, Trust

Like a chef seasoning a stew, use AI to A/B test headlines, but taste every iteration. As the African proverb warns, “You do not test the depth of a river with both feet.”

Test incrementally, AI is your tool, not your truth.

 

5. Literacy as Armor

Your team’s discernment is your greatest strategic asset.

 

 

HEART: The Soul in the System

AI processes data; humans process dignity. This is where ethics cease to be a policy and become a practice.

 

1. Guardrails of Grace

During the Qatar World Cup, Adidas used AI to track fan sentiment, but human reviewers ensured visuals honoured local codes.

Innovation without cultural sensitivity is arrogance.

 

2. Transparency as Trust

The WHO labeled its AI chatbots openly during COVID-19, a small disclosure that preserved global credibility. As Kevin Plank, founder of ‘Under Armour’ once said, “Trust is built in drops and lost in buckets.”

Secrecy erodes trust; transparency rebuilds it.

 

3. Soulful Inputs

Duolingo’s AI tutors are trained on idioms, humor, and cultural nuance, making learning human. Our elders say, “Until the lion learns to write, every story will glorify the hunter.”

Feed the machine with stories only humans can tell.

 

 

HAND: The Human in the Loop

Execution without ethics is automation.

Action without accountability is recklessness.

 

1. Co-Creation, Not Automation

LinkedIn’s AI drafts messages but wise professionals infuse warmth, humour, cultural touchpoints.

AI operates on System 1 (fast, instinctive); PR requires System 2 (deliberate, nuanced). Our forefathers in Africa understood this well when they said, "Words are sweet, but they can’t replace food."

An AI message lacks the nourishment of human presence.

 

2. The Human Gatekeeper

The UK’s NHS uses AI for symptom checks, but escalates complex cases to doctors.

Why? Because a misinterpreted symptom can cost a life.

In PR, a misworded statement can cost a reputation.

The Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal was not a tech failure, it was a human oversight failure.

No AI should ever be left alone in the control room.

 

In summary:

The HEAD plans.

The HEART guides.

The HAND executes.

 

In Conclusion

A principle without practice is mere rhetoric. Therefore, signing the Venice Pledge without implementing the Responsible AI principles in our daily work is an echo in an empty hall, sound without substance, and promise without presence.

The 3H Model transforms that echo into action. It ensures AI remains Augmented Intention, not artificial replacement. This human-centered discipline, thinking with clarity, leading with empathy, and acting with integrity is what will propel PR professionals from passive adopters to strategic architects.

Consequently, the 3H Model is inevitable in helping Communication professionals move the Global Alliance’s Seven Responsible AI Guiding Principles from principle to practice, from pledge to performance, and from ethics on paper to excellence in action.

I deployed AI for proofreading, grammar checks, and fact-checking in this article, but it did not replace judgment. There were several moments when I rejected its suggested corrections, particularly where structure and language risked diluting meaning. I consciously retained certain expressions because words are not neutral; they are strategic tools in communication, deliberately positioned to convey specific meanings. This is a practical demonstration of Human-in-the-Loop AI usage. AI can fly fast and far, but without a human holding the reins, speed becomes directionless.

The future of PR is not written by algorithms, it is authored by professionals who remember that the most intelligent tool is still only as wise as the human who wields it.

Ishola, N. Ayodele is a distinguished and multiple award-winning strategic communication expert who specializes in ‘Message Engineering’. He helps Organizations, Brands and Leaders Communicate in a way that yields the desired outcome. He is the author of the seminal work, 'PR Case Studies; Mastering the Trade,' and Dean, the School of Impactful Communication (TSIC). He can be reached via ishopr2015@gmail.com or 08077932282.