Publicis Groupe Joins AI Standards and Transparency Initiative C2PA

The Coalition of Content Provenance Authenticity (C2PA), a joint development foundation project that aims to unite tech and media organizations to set standards around content authentication, has recruited Publicis Groupe as its first advertising holding company member.The C2PA was set up in 2020 to drive transparency around content origins as the use of artificial intelligence accelerates its use as a content production tool. As a result, there is a demand for more responsible use of technology in the content space, with Publicis Groupe becoming a Steering Committee member alongside founders Adobe, Arm, BBC, Intel, Microsoft and Truepic. With concerns around intellectual property ownership and the accuracy of Generative AI content, the Coalition has been founded with a mission to build and standardize a future framework for content verification and protect the authenticity and provenance of AI assets for creators, brands, and consumers. Publicis has been at the forefront of AI adoption since it built and introduced its internal platform Marcel six years ago to help connect the needs of both clients and its 98,000 employees. “In an industry where bold, thought-provoking content has the power to move people, tell stories and demand action, we cannot afford the risk of bad actors compromising a creator’s authentic vision and creation,” said Carla Serrano, chief strategy officer for Publicis Groupe. “The C2PA’s efforts help protect that invaluable IP and ensure authentic creative visions are brought to completion – and verified along the way. And people can feel confident knowing that the content they’re viewing is unique, original, and straight from the source.” In the last three years, C2PA has produced the C2PA Specification, working with policymakers, academic and partner organizations. That is made up of various specifications and documents to both safeguard and verify original content across photo, video and audio formats. Andrew Jenks, chair of the C2PA said that Publicis would bring a “deep experience in branding and marketing that will support and contribute to our core mission of establishing trust across all online media.” He added that it would also help to scale the specification across the digital media ecosystem.” What’s Next for AI and Marketing? While Publicis has long adopted AI internally, CEO Arthur Sadoun explained to Adweek in February that he only wanted to see platforms such as Chat GTP used “for fun” rather than as a tool for client work. “If you put AI at the side of marketing, you win; if you replace marketing with AI, you lose,” he stated, adding that AI could be “a great thing for many people” but that it did not “add value” to the advertising business. In April, he spoke further about Marcel and the value it has brought to Publicis since being introduced in 2017.“It gives us an opportunity to have an AI platform that will allow everyone to continue to collaborate, to continue to provide learning and development and to continue to have some opportunities, despite the fact that we are not physically present five days a week,” Sadoun said.Rival advertising agency networks have also been upping their game when it comes to developing AI initiatives. Last month, WPP announced a deal with tech giant Nvidia to develop an ad-producing content engine, while in March, Omnicom and Microsoft Advertising announced plans to establish a global creative exchange to allow its agencies to simplify the process of developing digital advertising content.