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Revisiting the Responsible AI Manifesto

I was in Las Vegas this week for the Google Cloud Next 2025 conference (more on that later), as well as the first in-person meeting of our new Marketing AI Industry Council presented by Google Cloud.

The Council is a think tank of industry leaders who share a passion for exploring the impact of AI, and are jointly pursuing a mission to “Reimagine the future of marketing.”

Our focus to start is on the impact of AI on marketing talent and jobs.

One key component we are exploring is how leaders can take a responsible, human-centered approach to AI adoption, while leveraging AI for near-term gains in efficiency, productivity, creativity, and profitability.

In the process of preparing for the meeting, I found myself revisiting the 12 responsible AI principles that I published in January 2023 as part of the Responsible AI Manifesto.

The manifesto was meant to codify our responsible AI principles at Marketing AI Institute and SmarterX, and serve as an open template for other organizations and leaders who want to pilot and scale AI in an ethical way.

Here are the principles:

1. We believe in the responsible design, development, deployment and operation of AI technologies.
2. We believe in a human-centered approach to AI that empowers and augments professionals. AI technologies should be assistive, not autonomous.
3. We believe that humans remain accountable for all decisions and actions, even when assisted by AI. The human must remain in the loop in all AI applications.
4. We believe in the critical role of human knowledge, experience, emotion, and imagination in creativity, and we seek to explore and promote emerging career paths and opportunities for creative professionals.
5. We believe in the power of language, images and videos to educate, influence, and affect change. We commit to never knowingly use generative AI technology to deceive; to produce content for the sole benefit of financial gain; or to spread falsehoods, misinformation, disinformation, or propaganda.
6. We believe in understanding the limitations and dangers of AI, and considering those factors in all of our decisions and actions.
7. We believe that transparency in data collection and AI usage is essential in order to maintain the trust of our audiences and stakeholders.
8. We believe in personalization without invasion of privacy, including strict adherence to data privacy laws, mitigation of privacy risks for consumers, and following our moral compass when legal precedent lags behind AI innovation.
9. We believe in intelligent automation without dehumanization, and the potential of AI to have profound benefits for humanity and society.
10. We believe in an open approach to sharing our AI research, knowledge, ideas, experiences, and processes in order to advance the industry and society.
11. We believe in the importance of upskilling and reskilling professionals, and using AI to build more fulfilling careers and lives.
12. We believe in partnering with organizations and people who share our principles.

If your organization hasn’t defined its responsible AI principles yet, I invite you to use these as a starting point.

The principles were published under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike that allows others to remix, adapt, and build upon the work.

— Paul

First Look: What We’re Talking About on the Pod

Subscribe to The Artificial Intelligence Show on YouTube or your favorite podcast network for weekly AI news and insights.

Here’s a preview of the stories we’re tracking for Tuesday’s episode.

• Google previews The Wizard of Oz at The Sphere powered by Google AI. Google Cloud Next kicked off on Tuesday evening with an awe-inspiring experience at The Sphere in Las Vegas that I was lucky enough to attend in person. According to Google, “For months, thousands of researchers, programmers, visual effects artists, archivists and producers at Google DeepMind, Google Cloud, Sphere Studios, Magnopus, Warner Bros. Discovery and others in the film and technology industries have been working to bring the 1939 classic to a very big screen in a very big way.” The movie, which will debut at The Sphere on Aug. 28, 2025, was made possible by groundbreaking innovations in AI models, specifically Imagen (image generation) and Veo (video generation).
• Google Cloud announces hundreds of updates at Next 2025. The conference was packed with product news, demos and launches. I’m personally most excited about the potential of Agentspace, but you can check out all 229 announcements on the Google Cloud blog.
• Shopify CEO’s leaked memo boldly states AI imperative within the business. Following the leak of an internal memo, Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke shared the full document on X. Titled, “Reflexive AI usage is now a baseline expectation at Shopify,” Lutke states, “Before asking for more Headcount and resources, teams must demonstrate why they cannot get what they want done using AI.” I believe this will become standard operating procedure for many AI-forward companies this year. The full memo is worth reading.
• OpenAI rolls out memory features to Plus and Pro tier users. In an April 10 Tweet, Sam Altman said, “we have greatly improved memory in chatgpt–it can now reference all your past conversations! this is a surprisingly great feature imo, and it points at something we are excited about: ai systems that get to know you over your life, and become extremely useful and personalized.” This is a very important update that has the potential to change the way people interact with their chatbots. You can learn more on the OpenAI Memory FAQ page.
• How Apple fumbled Siri’s AI makeover. The Information has a remarkable story on the in-fighting and indecision that set Apple back years on its generative AI progress, specifically with Siri. “More than half a dozen former Apple employees who worked in the AI and machine-learning group led by Giannandrea—known as AI/ML for short—told The Information that poor leadership is to blame for its problems with execution. . . . Among engineers inside Apple, the AI group’s relaxed culture and struggles with execution have even earned it an uncharitable nickname, a play on its initials: AIMLess.”
• White House releases new policies on federal agency AI use and procurement. The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released two revised policies: OMB Memorandum M-25-21, Accelerating Federal Use of AI through Innovation, Governance, and Public Trust, and OMB Memorandum M-25-22, Driving Efficient Acquisition of Artificial Intelligence in Government. According to The White House, “These policies fundamentally shift perspectives and direction from the prior Administration, focusing now on utilizing emerging technologies to modernize the Federal Government. The Executive Branch is shifting to a forward-leaning, pro-innovation and pro-competition mindset rather than pursuing the risk-averse approach of the previous administration.” (Fact Sheet)

Upcoming Events and Appearances

• May 1: [Webinar] Intro to AI
• May 15: [Webinar] 5 Essential Steps to Scaling AI Class
• June 5: [Virtual Event] AI for B2B Marketers Summit
• Oct. 14 – 16: [Live Event] MAICON 2025

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Paul Roetzer

Founder & CEO | SmarterX & Marketing AI Institute

Co-Host | The Artificial Intelligence Show Podcast

Co-Author | Marketing Artificial Intelligence

P.S. This newsletter is 100% human-generated by Paul.