{"id":32152,"date":"2024-03-05T13:13:21","date_gmt":"2024-03-05T21:13:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=32152"},"modified":"2024-03-05T13:13:23","modified_gmt":"2024-03-05T21:13:23","slug":"why-the-ceo-of-the-worlds-biggest-pr-firm-is-optimistic-about-s-f-and-ai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2024\/03\/05\/why-the-ceo-of-the-worlds-biggest-pr-firm-is-optimistic-about-s-f-and-ai\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the CEO of the world\u2019s biggest PR firm is optimistic about S.F. and AI"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By\u00a0Roland Li<\/a> March 4, 2024 (SFChroncile.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
The CEO of the world\u2019s biggest public relations firm said he believes the narrative around San Francisco has become more upbeat.Jessica Christian\/The Chronicle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The head of the world\u2019s biggest public relations firm is seeing a positive shift in San Francisco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Major challenges around remote work, homelessness and a slow pandemic recovery remain, but Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman, is noticing a more upbeat narrative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The city\u2019s dominance in\u00a0artificial intelligence,<\/a>\u00a0the hottest sector in tech, is supplanting\u00a0\u201cdoom loop\u201d fears<\/a>, he believes. In recent weeks, the Economist printed a spread on the city\u2019s\u00a0\u201csurprising comeback<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0The Wall Street Journal reported<\/a>\u00a0that tech critics who fled to places like Miami and Austin, Texas, during the pandemic are coming back, acknowledging the city\u2019s dominance in tech talent and venture capital money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere was a lot of piling on and a lot of presumption based on inaccurate (information). And also because it was convenient, politically, to beat San Francisco over the head,\u201d Edelman said,\u00a0 in an interview in his firm\u2019s offices on Market Street. \u201cThe tide has turned.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman, is bullish on the future of San Francisco.Courtesy of Edelman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

He credits groups such as Edelman client\u00a0Advance SF,<\/a>\u00a0a business-backed nonprofit whose members include the Giants, Gap and Uber. Last year, it (along with Edelman) launched a civic pride campaign called\u00a0\u201cIt All Starts Here,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0with signs around the city and a media tour.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a business initiative to build back confidence and belief in this city. And it\u2019s working,\u201d Edelman said. \u201cBusiness has been a leading force.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edelman, who splits much of his time in New York and Chicago, said he feels San Francisco had gotten cleaner over the past year. \u201cI would say San Francisco looks a lot better to me than a year ago,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While AI has been hailed as a potential economic savior, a recent Edelman worldwide pol<\/a>l found that only half of 32,000 respondents trusted the sector, compared with 76% trusting tech overall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only 22% of respondents to the Edelman Trust Barometer said innovation was well managed, while 39% said it was poorly managed and the remaining 39% said neither. U.S. respondents had the most negative views, with 56% saying innovation was poorly managed and only 14% saying it was well managed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The online survey spanned 28 countries from Nov. 3 to Nov. 22, 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were also widespread negative views of both government and media, which were seen as less competent and unethical than nongovernment organizations and private businesses, which had the highest marks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Worldwide, businesses were trusted by 63% of respondents, while around half trusted the government and media. In the U.S. only 53% of respondents trusted business and 40% trusted the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think business has stepped into the void left by government,\u201d Edelman said. \u201cI see business as deeply interested in societal issues,\u201d including environmental sustainability, diversity, equity and inclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also sees that happening in San Francisco, as business leaders say, \u201cwe need the city to work and we want to be part of the solution, and we\u2019re investing here, and we want you, the government, to come along.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reach Roland Li: roland.li@sfchronicle.com; Twitter: @rolandlisf<\/p>\n\n\n\n

March 4, 2024<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By\u00a0Roland Li<\/a> (SFChronicle.com)<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roland Li covers commercial real estate for the business desk, focusing on the Bay Area office and retail sectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was previously a reporter at San Francisco Business Times, where he won one award from the California News Publishers Association and three from the National Association of Real Estate Editors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He is the author of \u201cGood Luck Have Fun: The Rise of eSports,” a 2016 book on the history of the competitive video game industry. Before moving to the Bay Area in 2015, he studied and worked in New York. He freelanced for the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and other local publications. His hobbies include swimming and urban photography.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He can be reached at roland.li@sfchronicle.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Roland Li March 4, 2024 (SFChroncile.com) The head of the world\u2019s biggest public relations firm is seeing a positive shift in San Francisco. Major challenges around remote work, homelessness and a slow pandemic recovery remain, but Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman, is noticing a more upbeat narrative. The city\u2019s dominance… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32152"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32152"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32152\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32159,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32152\/revisions\/32159"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}