Corporate affairs and navigating dystopia

We’re living in an era of extreme corporate and institutional distrust. People don’t have faith that big businesses, government, and the other institutions that shape their lives have what it takes to solve society’s biggest problems. They are more likely to believe they are the cause of them. 

This is understandable. With AI chiefs having recently conceded they could lose control of the technology, widespread concerns around the usage of personal data and the increasing creep of the mass surveillance state, it is easy to see why people increasingly feel like they're living in a dystopian age.  

For businesses, these feelings of distrust carry significant risks to what we in corporate affairs like to call the ‘social licence to operate’, or the ongoing acceptance and approval of a company, project, or industry's practices by local communities, government, and the public more widely.  

This can be easily and quickly lost. The recent backlash towards data centres in the US serves as an example. It is particularly telling of our current times, as here evidence-based, rational concerns have been joined by outright disinformation, to which people are becoming increasingly susceptible due to malaise. 

To get projects off the ground and meet AI’s rapidly growing energy demands, companies must address questions around environmental impact, while also considering more eccentric – but widespread – claims. One doing the rounds on social media is that the proliferation of data centre construction projects is for enormous processing power intended for sweeping, continuous mass surveillance, and behavioural manipulation on an unprecedented scale.  

But as wacky and untrue as this might be, it is grounded in a justified feeling of distrust of the way information and personal data is increasingly being used to govern and shape society, as well as a wider feeling that any societal progress that is being made isn’t being shared or experienced equally. Faced with the threat of an AI apocalypse, crumbling economic and social infrastructure, ongoing geopolitical instability, and environmental degradation, it is inevitable that people will look to organise around these issues in a bid to reassert agency. 

It is for corporates and institutions to address these concerns if they want to mitigate operational risk, not only for financial gain but also for the future economic, social, environmental, and technological advancement of society.  

It is no longer enough to say one thing and do another; this is where the increasingly important role of corporate affairs comes into play. Businesses need to make conscious and meaningful decisions that address concerns, whether around privacy, growing inequality, financial sustainability, or environmental impact. These should be research-based and sincere, while being adaptable to different markets and conditions in which they operate. 

For example, a corporate landlord looking to enter a particularly squeezed rental market would be well advised to set rents at reasonable levels and demonstrate how their entry can alleviate the issue. Another is that in countries such as Germany, privacy and data protection tend to occupy a particularly prominent place in public discourse, meaning businesses that can demonstrate strong credentials in these areas may be better positioned to earn trust.  

A useful case study of an effective approach to corporate affairs has been Apple and its own focus on privacy.Apple’s performance on the stock market has been interesting to observe; the company has opened up a sustained valuation premium over Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, and Meta.   

Of course, this is likely due to several different factors, particularly that its investment case is less closely wedded to AI than other tech companies. But a notable, and very intentional, focus of Apple's sell to consumers and markets has been its focus on privacy - its customers’ data is kept safe. Apple is selling trust amidst an environment where it commands a premium. A boatload of other companies are now following suit.   

The true value of corporate affairs lies within integrating communications objectives into a businesses’ operations as a key market differentiator. Others could learn a lot from Apple's approach as distrust continues to proliferate.