From Prediction to Creation: Rethinking Marketing in the Age of Generative AI
In this episode of AMS Illuminations, host Brad Carlson is joined by Dr. Erik Hermann, Interim Professor of Marketing at European University Viadrina, for a conversation about how generative AI is reshaping the future of marketing.
As AI moves beyond prediction and optimization into creation, interaction and autonomous decision-making, marketers are being asked to rethink long-held assumptions about strategy, creativity, consumer behavior and trust. Dr. Hermann helps break down the distinctions between predictive, generative and agentic AI, and explains why these shifts matter for both marketing scholarship and practice.
The conversation also explores AI’s role as both collaborator and competitor, including where AI may replace routine tasks and where human creativity, critical thinking and lived experience remain essential. Dr. Hermann discusses why consumers form emotional attachments to machines, how AI interactions may become preferred in certain contexts, and what that means for the future of customer relationships.
The episode also examines the ethical questions surrounding AI in marketing, from over-reliance and miscalibrated trust to bias, privacy, sustainability and accountability. Dr. Hermann introduces his ASSURANCE framework for responsible AI and considers how marketers can use AI not only to improve efficiency, but to create meaningful value for customers, organizations and society.
Episode Guests:
Erik Hermann
Dr. Erik Hermann is Interim Professor of Marketing at European University Viadrina in Frankfurt. He previously served as a permanent affiliate professor of marketing at ESCP Business School and has worked extensively in industry, including roles in digital solutions, marketing strategy, investor relations and advertising policy.
He currently serves as social media editor for the Journal of Marketing. His research focuses on generative AI, AI agents in marketing, AI ethics, consumer psychology and vulnerable consumers. His work has appeared in leading journals including the Journal of Marketing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing and Harvard Business Review.
Brad D. Carlson, Ph.D., Host
Brad D. Carlson, Ph.D., is a professor and James J. Pierson Endowed Chair in Marketing in the Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business at Saint Louis University, as well as the current president of the Academy of Marketing Science. Renowned for his exemplary teaching, research, and service, Brad has earned numerous accolades throughout his career. His research, which has appeared in prominent journals, including the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, focuses on practical and theoretical aspects of marketing that resonate both in academia and industry.
