"The Biggest Discovery Was AI In Marketing. Isn’t Just About Algorithms Or The Tech, It’s About Trust" » interview with Nicole Alexander

We sat down with Nicole Alexander, Professor of Marketing and Technology at NYU and author of Ethical AI in Marketing, ahead of her keynote at GoTech World 2025. With a background that spans Meta, global corporations, and academia, Nicole brings an interesting perspective to Gotech World: she understands both the pressure to grow fast and the responsibility to grow right. Her insights reveal how marketers can use AI to unlock new opportunities without losing consumer trust in the process. 

⏰ From Hyper-Growth to Higher Purpose 

Nicole’s career trajectory mirrors the dilemmas many marketers face today. Working in global organizations like Meta, she witnessed how AI could transform marketing with unprecedented personalization and efficiency. But she also noticed the darker side: in the race to innovate, ethical questions were often pushed aside. 

“At Meta and in my previous roles at global companies, I saw firsthand how transformative AI could be for marketing; however, I also saw how quickly excitement could overshadow responsibility. Questions about consumer trust, data use, and unintended consequences were often sidelined in the rush to ‘innovate’. Teaching and research gave me the chance to pause, interrogate these tensions, and focus on the bigger picture: how technology can drive growth without sacrificing integrity.” 

Her story is one many marketing leaders can relate to: balancing the demand for fast results with the responsibility to protect brand reputation and long-term customer relationships. 

🤝 Trust: The Universal Currency in AI-Driven Marketing 

One of the strongest insights Nicole uncovered while writing Ethical AI in Marketing is that no matter the sector or geography, the real conversation is not about algorithms, it’s about trust. 

“What surprised me most was the consistency of concern across regions and sectors. Whether I spoke with leaders in finance, healthcare, or retail, the underlying challenge was always trust. Consumers will engage with AI-driven experiences only if they believe those experiences respect their rights and values.” 

This finding reframes AI’s role in marketing. It’s not just about optimizing ad spend or scaling personalization, it’s about proving that technology can enhance consumer experiences without exploiting them. Trust becomes the KPI that underpins all others, from engagement to lifetime value. 

🌱 Why Responsibility Fuels, Not Slows, Growth 

Marketers are used to being told that responsibility is a “nice to have,” secondary to metrics like clicks, conversions, and ROI. Nicole argues the opposite: ethical AI is now a growth driver in itself. 

“The idea that responsibility slows growth is outdated. Regulators, consumers, and even investors reward brands that take ethical AI seriously. Short-term metrics like clicks or conversions matter less when reputational risk and customer churn follow from misuse. I believe AI will shift marketing from a growth-at-any-cost model to one where responsible practices underpin long-term resilience and profitability.” 

This insight is particularly powerful for CMOs: ethics in AI isn’t about compliance, it’s about protecting brand equity and building sustainable competitive advantage. 

🔮 The Ethical Brand of 2035 

If every interaction in 2035 will be touched by AI, how will brands differentiate themselves? Nicole is clear: it won’t be about using AI, it will be about using it responsibly. 

“In a decade, nearly every customer interaction will be touched by AI in some way, from recommendation engines to automated service. What will set ethical brands apart is their ability to demonstrate transparency, give customers control, and ensure equitable outcomes across diverse audiences. Much like sustainability today, ethical use of AI will become a baseline expectation, and brands that can show proof will thrive. In ten years, an ethical brand won’t win because it uses AI, it will win because it earns trust.” 

⚖️ Bias: The Uncomfortable Truth Marketers Must Accept 

Nicole doesn’t shy away from what many avoid admitting: AI is not neutral. “The uncomfortable truth is that no dataset is neutral, and therefore no AI system is bias-free. Every model reflects the historical inequities, blind spots, and imbalances of the data it was trained on. For marketers, this bias surfaces across the entire ecosystem: in who gets targeted or excluded, in how creative assets are generated or tested, and even in the metrics we rely on to define success.’” 

For marketers, this means bias is not a one-off technical challenge but a permanent management responsibility. Continuous auditing, human-in-the-loop systems, and the use of more diverse datasets are the only way forward. 

💡 Creative… or Creepy? Lessons from Emotional AI 

Marketing has always thrived on creativity, but AI raises the stakes and the risks. Nicole points to one particularly eye-opening example. 

“One of the most striking examples I’ve seen is the use of emotional AI to read people’s facial features, tone, and micro-expressions in order to adapt marketing messages in real time. The idea is powerful; imagine an ad that shifts based on whether you look happy, stressed, or disengaged. But here’s the problem: the assumption that technology can accurately read emotions from expressions is deeply flawed. It ignores cultural nuance, context, and individual differences, and risks stereotyping or misinterpreting human behavior.” 

The lesson here is critical: just because AI enables a new capability doesn’t mean it should be used without scrutiny. The line between personalization and manipulation can be thin and brands that cross it may lose consumer trust permanently. 

💭 The Big Takeaway for Marketers 

If Nicole could leave marketers with one idea, it would be this: ethics isn’t a drag on innovation, it’s the engine for sustainable growth. 

“Ethics too many times to count, is seen as a brake on innovation when in fact it’s the foundation of sustainable growth. By embedding ethics into design and decision-making, marketers can future-proof their strategies, build trust, and unlock deeper, more loyal relationships with consumers. Far from slowing progress, ethics accelerates the kind of innovation that lasts.” 

🤝 Meet Nicole Alexander at GoTech World 2025 

Want to understand how ethics and AI can fuel both creativity and long-term brand growth? Join Nicole at GoTech World 2025 on AI in Marketing & eCommerce Stage for her keynote, where she’ll explore how marketers can embed ethics into AI-driven strategies and turn responsibility into their most powerful competitive advantage. 

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