Webinar Replay - The Future of Crisis Simulations with AI

Dear reader,

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of hosting a webinar, where my guest, Dominik Scherm, and I explored the exciting role of artificial intelligence (AI) in crisis communication and emergency response.

I kicked off the session by discussing how AI is revolutionising our field.

A significant part of my presentation was about integrating AI into crisis response planning. I demonstrated how AI systems, when fed the right context and goals, can draft preliminary crisis communication plans.

These plans include vital components such as internal communication strategies, which are often neglected in traditional setups. This integration can conserve time and resources, letting us concentrate on the specific details of crises as they unfold.

Dominik Scherm, who leads a startup pioneering AI-powered simulations, then shared his insights. He introduced the concept of "synthetic audiences"—AI-generated personas that mimic real people to test crisis communication tactics.

His team has found a 70–80% match between the reactions of these synthetic audiences and actual human responses, which is a significant advancement for our message pre-testing methods.

We also discussed AI-driven crisis simulations that use AI agents to represent different stakeholders in a simulated environment. This technique helps pinpoint improvement areas, tests readiness, and boosts crisis management skills, all without the associated risks and costs of real-life drills.

Dominik and I continually highlighted the need for transparency, ethical practices, and human oversight when using AI for crisis communication. We are convinced that merging AI insights with our professional expertise ensures a more effective and ethical approach to crisis management.

We wrapped up the webinar with a call for collaboration, encouraging attendees to consider research projects and partnerships to further the use of AI in our field.

If you know of organisations that would like to collaborate with us on a specific research project in the field of AI agents or synthetic audiences, for crisis preparedness, simulations, or message testing, please hit reply or reach out.

For those of you who missed it, below you can watch the replay of the full webinar 👇

Did you check out my crisis and emergency communication resources yet? You can download templates, checklists, and practical guidance on this page. You will find tools such as a Crisis Communication Plan Template, the Audience Canvas for Emergency Communication, and much more.

_{Parts of this newsletter were created using AI technology to draft content. In addition, all AI-generated images include a caption stating, 'This image was created using AI'. These changes were made in line with the transparency requirements of the EU AI law for AI-generated content.}