Independent Media Agencies of Australia (IMAA), the national, not-for-profit industry association for the independent media agency industry, today released its landmark AI Guiding Principles – the first of its kind for the Australian media sector.
The 10 guiding principles solidify the IMAA’s overarching vision for AI use among its independent media agency members, along with its role in helping members address the ever-evolving AI landscape.
The principles, developed in collaboration with members and leading Australian AI agency AirStack, are designed to provide a compass for independent media agencies nationally, acting as a starting point for strategic approaches to ethics, processes, and client relations around AI.
The IMAA AI Guiding Principles are:
- Set a strong ethical foundation: AI solutions should uphold standards of fairness, inclusivity and transparency, and respect national human rights and cultural values.
- Aim for human-centric amplification: AI should be approached as a tool to augment and enhance human potential, not replace it. AI should be harnessed to improve human creativity, agility, capacity and capabilities.
- Maintain transparent processes: agencies need to be transparent with clients and customers about their AI processes.
- Provide continuous learning and collaboration: agencies are encouraged to regularly share insights, challenges and solutions, and leverage the collective intelligence of the IMAA to stay abreast of AI advancements and best practices.
- Ensure equal opportunities: the approach to AI should focus on creating a level playing field for all Australian independent media agencies, regardless of their size and resources.
- Provide safety, reliability and confidence: an agency’s AI tools should be rigorously tested and secured to safeguard from potential vulnerabilities.
- Ensure strong data privacy and protection measures: agencies should prioritise data privacy and protection by adhering to national regulations and establishing internal guidelines, while also training their teams on best practices for handling data.
- Align actions to Australian values and net social outcomes: agencies should ensure their AIdriven operations support the Australian economy & are tailored to resonate with the nation’s unique media landscape.
- Ensure client collaboration and responsiveness to feedback: agencies should set opportunities for open dialogue and respond to feedback and guidance from stakeholders.
- Take proactive stances on regulation and policy: agencies should stay informed on wider policy discussions, and regularly seek to update and implement new processes.
The AI Guiding Principles also outlines the IMAA’s vision for AI, particularly its focus on empowering members via collaboration, alignment and tools. The principles also include a commitment by the association to provide opportunities for members to learn more about AI through forums, engaging with industry experts, and delivering resources to upskill staff.
“The IMAA AI Guiding Principles represent a landmark moment for the national independent media sector, as we seek to lead the way in empowering agencies in their AI journey, while ensuring responsible and ethical practices,” said IMAA CEO, Sam Buchanan.
“We know AI is going to fundamentally change the media landscape; the technology is already predicted to deliver nearly $6.6 trillion in productivity by 2030, while breakthroughs in generative AI have the potential to drive a 7% increase in global GDP”.
“Given AI’s rapid evolution, we believe it is crucial that we collaborate and unite to face the emerging opportunities, and the challenges, presented by AI. By aligning on the principles that will help govern AI use, particularly our commitment to ethics, trustworthiness and transparency, we’re promoting our members and protecting their reputation”.
“As an organisation, our focus is on collaboration and working together to embrace AI in a way that enhances our strengths and collective values and continues to level the playing field to ensure indies are treated equally and offered the same opportunities, particularly around AI innovation”.
“We now hope to provide opportunities for members to share their learnings and challenges, while delivering AI-related education to upskill staff, providing education, knowledge and insights to keep them ahead of the changes”.
