The Unstereotype Alliance, a coalition of advertising businesses led by UN Women, has launched its first AI framework for responsible advertising at Cannes Lions.
The Alliance has warned that AI is exacerbating existing inequalities in advertising creative, with actions to mitigate bias and discrimination “minimal and insufficient”.
The framework was developed with companies including Mars, Diageo, Dove, Kantar, Getty Images, Mastercard, Microsoft, Mondelez International, Revolt and Clever Together, alongside its 230+ other members.
It recommends a “3 Cs” model of three core principles that marketers can use to address baked-in bias within AI models: Curate, Craft, and Control.
“Cannes is where the industry comes to celebrate what advertising can be at its best,” commented Elspeth l’Anson, the Unstereotype Alliance secretariat at UN Women. “It is also the right moment to be honest about where the risks lie.
“Generative AI is reshaping how campaigns are planned, made and distributed, and the Alliance exists precisely to ensure that transformation serves inclusion rather than undermining it.”
A 2021 study of 133 AI systems found that 44% demonstrated gender bias and 26% demonstrated both gender and racial bias. Yet last year the IAB found that only 51% of marketers currently use human oversight to test AI-generated creative before release.
The open-source framework is a practical, plug-and-play tool designed to be used whenever generative AI is used in the communications development process, from research and insight generation through to campaign planning, creative ideation, asset creation, media buying, and testing.
The launch marks a shift in Alliance’s strategic priorities, with AI and the creator economy identified as vital to the future of inclusive advertising. Under the new strategy, the Alliance will convene members, build evidence, and develop tools across both areas.
