9 AI Prompts for Public Affairs Professionals Who Want Better Thinking, Not Just Faster Drafting
Discover 9 practical AI prompts for public affairs professionals to improve policy messaging, pressure-test arguments, anticipate objections, and communicate more clearly with EU stakeholders.
“What is the single weakest sentence in this briefing, and how would you fix it?”
This is a prompt I would probably never have come up with myself.
And yet, it is exactly the kind of question that makes AI useful for public affairs work.
Not because it writes the briefing for you.
But because it helps you test the thinking behind it.
A lot of AI use in public affairs still focuses on speed: summarise this, draft that, turn this into an email. Useful, yes. But not the whole story.
The real value is when AI helps you pressure-test your message before someone else does.
A policymaker.
A journalist.
A Commission official.
A sceptical attaché.
A client.
A colleague in the meeting who spots the weak point before you do.
So here are 9 AI prompts for public affairs professionals who want better thinking, not just faster drafting:
- Rewrite this message so it would survive a hostile question from an MEP in the relevant EP committee.
- List the 5 strongest objections a Commission desk officer at [DG] would raise to this proposal, then tighten the argument.
- Translate this policy language into something a national journalist would not misinterpret.
- What is the single weakest sentence in this briefing, and how would you fix it?
- Adapt this message for a sceptical Permanent Representation official who is short on time.
- Strip this text of buzzwords and replace them with concrete, defensible claims.
- Assume the audience is politically neutral but institutionally risk-averse, rewrite accordingly.
- What is the hidden assumption in this argument that could be challenged in a meeting?
- Reduce this to a 30-second spoken answer that sounds credible and not rehearsed.
The point is not to let AI do your public affairs work for you.
The point is to use it as a sparring partner.
To make your arguments clearer.
To make your messages harder to misread.
To find the sentence that sounds fine until someone challenges it.
To prepare for the question you hope no one asks.
That is where AI becomes genuinely useful.
Not as a shortcut around expertise.
But as a tool that helps you use your expertise better.
Stop Using AI for Answers. Start Using It for Better Questions
Discover why the real power of AI isn’t in providing answers, but in helping you ask better questions, uncover blind spots, and explore alternative perspectives for smarter decision-making.
Picasso once said: "Computers are useless, they can only give you answers."
That was true in his time, and still true today if you only use AI as a search ("answer") engine.
The real value is in the questions we ask:
- see blind spots in our reasoning ("Identify hidden biases or blind spots in my plan.)
- test assumptions we didn’t know we had ("Highlight my explicit or implicit assumptions.")
- explore alternative framings of the same problem ("How can this problem be viewed from multiple angles? How would a manager, a psychologist, a physicist, and musician look at it?") Or take these for example:
- Instead of asking “What’s the EU’s position on AI regulation?” try “What unintended consequences could the EU AI Act have for small startups?”
- Instead of “Summarize this report,” try “What’s missing from this report that an NGO focusing on circular economy could ask?”
- Instead of “Write a press release,” try “What would make this story credible to a skeptical journalist?”
AI doesn’t (and shouldn't) replace thinking. Just be sure to ask it the right way.
➡️ looking for AI workshops for your team? Influence Builders has trained 1500+ corporate and government affairs teams, and we'll be glad to work with you.
AI on LinkedIn: Hype, Hysteria, or Honest Insight?
A wry look at the LinkedIn AI conversation: from overhyped promises to doomsday takes, existential musings, and magical shortcuts. Where does reality meet rhetoric?
I get the impression that each time someone talks about AI on Linkedin, it's either:
- "oh this is such a hype/BS that only grifters talk about it"
- "you can go sit on a beach, it'll do everything for/instead of you"
- "whatever it churns out, it's a piece of cr*p that should be ridiculed"
- "here is some existential AI philosophy that I just invented"
- "a magic shortcut to hack your way to the top of the newsfeed"
- "it's the end of [name topic] and let's despair OR here is what to do about it"
- "this is revolutionary and the best of all worlds is about to come"
(I am guilty as charged of some of the above, I readily admit.)
Did I miss anything else?
p.s.: and the opportunistic plug, as the plus one: check out Influence Builders
AI Video for Advocacy: From Trojan Horses to Policy Messages
AI video tools are opening new doors for advocacy. Even a rough prompt like ‘lobbyists pulling a Trojan horse into an EU building’ can produce surprisingly effective visuals. Here’s why video generation is worth experimenting with.
"Lobbyists pulling a trojan horse into an EU building in Brussels" was my primitive prompt but this AI video generator still did a pretty good job.
(Alright, the wooden structure looks more like a cricket than a horse but that could be improved with a few trials and finer instructions.)
Video generation for advocacy is becoming a real opportunity.
Have you tried it yet?
This was originally posted on Andras Baneth's LinkedIn account.
From Silly Prompts to Smart Advocacy: Testing the Next Wave of AI Video Tools
AI video generation is evolving fast — even simple prompts can create striking visuals. Here’s a look at how tools like HailuoAI could be used for social media, storytelling, and advocacy campaigns.
Video generation is getting pretty good, including for lazy prompters like me ("a member of the European Parliament flying over the Berlaymont building in brussels").
If I had spent a bit more time to specify the details, perhaps upload the building's high-res image and come up with a less silly and more insightful scene, this could be useful for social media posts or even advocacy campaigns.
(I used the new Chinese site, hailuoai.video 's free account)
Any good script ideas to turn into video...?
This was originally posted on Andras Baneth's LinkedIn account.
ChatGPT vs. Hematologist: Can AI Spot What Doctors Miss in Your Bloodwork?
Can ChatGPT really analyze your blood test? I tried it — and while it’s no replacement for a doctor, it confirmed my hematologist’s insights and offered new perspectives. Here’s why AI makes sense as a second opinion, not the only opinion.
Can ChatGPT properly analyze your blood test? Or other medical information?
I don't think it's a good idea to make serious medical decision solely based on AI analysis.
But we can definitely use its power to uncover blind spots or get a 'second opinion' besides your doctor.
Having just done a detailed blood test, I uploaded it to ChatGPT with the following prompt:
"You are the world's very best hematologist with a deep expertise in laboratory, statistics, and medical diagnosis. Take your time, deeply and carefully analyze this blood test. Look for unexpected correlations. Also consider the 'endobiogeny' approach. Examine it from multiple angles. Then write a short, easy to understand, bullet-pointed list of your key findings, including risk factors. Be sure to be objective, analytical, realistic, without being alarmist but at the same time, paying attention to accurate medical advice.
"It confirmed the same analysis I got from a hematologist, so I was pretty impressed.
I could also have uncovered points or perspectives that he hadn't spotted, so I could have discussed his expert opinion overlaid with the AI's insights.
As in so many other cases, it's not either/or. It's and/and. Co-intelligence.
(p.s.: I used 'temporary chat' and removed all data afterwards)
(p.s.2: If you're interested in learning about AI use cases for your organization, get in touch)
This was originally posted on Andras Baneth's LinkedIn account.
AI Isn’t About One Answer—It’s About Seeing From Every Angle
AI isn’t just a tool for answers—it’s a tool for perspectives. From policy debates to scenario planning, discover how AI helps reframe issues by showing them from multiple angles (even a worm’s view in an apple). A practical look at perspective-taking with AI.
"To a worm in an apple, the world is an apple" - or rather change your perspective and see things in a new light.
The same story can look entirely different depending on where you look at it from.
AI is not a single-answer machine. I prefer using it to find multiple interpretations of the same issue. For example:
- I ask GPT to rewrite a policy brief from the perspective of someone opposed to it
- I prompt it to summarise a text in 3 versions: for a senior executive, a junior team member, and an external stakeholder
- I run the same dataset (Excel sheet) through two different models and compare their logic
- I ask it to generate best, base, and worst-case scenarios for a strategic decision
- I can simulate political debates by instructing GPT to take the position of party A, B, or C
- I can take a controversial issue and have it presented from both sides
AI's perspective-taking ability is remarkable. You can use it to personalize, customize, take the position of your opponent, your counterpart, a stakeholder, or any angle you can think of.
(The most fun exercise is to take the perspective of an inanimate object or animal and present a case from its perspective. E.g.: "You are a goose flying above two kayakers. What do you see?")
p.s.: give it a try. And if you need more in-depth ideas, we run workshops on this and more.
This was originally posted on Andras Baneth's LinkedIn account.
European Parliament 2026 Agenda in Google Calendar [unofficial, free]
EP Calendar 2026
By popular demand, here it goes again!
I often got frustrated that I had to download the PDF calendar of the European Parliament’s website to find out when are the Strasbourg plenary sessions, the committee weeks in Brussels and other details.
As a result, I’ve created a free, public [unofficial] Google Calendar for 2025 that you can easily pull into your Android, iPhone, Outlook, or Google Calendar to see each week’s designation.
It’s the 10th year I’m offering it, so if you find any mistakes or have comments, please let me know!
Copy this iCAL link to add EP 2026 calendar into your Google calendar or other app.
- Go to Other calendars
- Click the “+” sign.
- Choose “From URL” and insert the following link:
https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=c_44a34b65470fc449cb75b0cee40363953fd2e754f4599dd2a5be8695c923bc0d%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=Europe%2FBrussels
Link to the online version of this EP 2026 calendar
Wish to embed the calendar on your site? Here is the iFrame code:
<iframe src="https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=9dbc8e11d8272cf8c6505e31a5344c7166e08424af507a2a45ef434aa4eebcd6%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=Europe%2FBrussels" style="border: 0" width="800" height="600" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
Enjoy and share!
Disclaimer: I take no responsibility for any errors or changes, it’s purely for information purposes.
AI Won’t Replace Your Communications Team—But It Can Make Them Smarter
Running an AI workshop with the European Research Executive Agency, we explored how co-intelligence—human creativity + AI—can boost communications, from attracting scientists to Europe to crafting more persuasive campaigns.
So many use cases, so much potential.
A rewarding experience to run an AI workshop for the European Research Executive Agency (REA) communications team with Jacques Foul.
One case study was finding ways to attract more scientists to Europe.
Creating a detailed demographic/sociological cohort of the target audience, applying communication frameworks for more persuasive messaging, and running GPT@JRC-powered brainstorming conversations for creative campaigns is the “co-intelligence” (as per Ethan Mollick’s book) approach we advocate: human ingenuity + artificial intelligence.
“AND” not “either/or”.
This was originally posted on Andras Baneth's LinkedIn account.
When Your AI Starts Swearing: The Strange World of Grok’s ‘Unhinged’ Mode
Twitter/X’s AI tool Grok comes with wild personality modes like ‘Unhinged,’ where conversations turn bizarre, funny, and full of swearing. But beyond the novelty, what happens if these AI personalities are shaped by companies—not users? A look at the social and personal impact of AI modes we don’t control.
Have you tried the Grok (Twitter/X's AI tool) phone app voice mode in "Unhinged" personality? It's insane.
Brace for a bizarre and somewhat funny, no-holds-barred, crazy AI conversation where elaborate swearing is the norm.
(Below is a screenshot of its response when I asked a simple question about the EU.)
You can also have your AI 'partner' in "Doc", "Therapist", "Conspiracy", "Argumentative" modes, among others.
It did make me wonder what personal and social/societal impact it can have if/when these 'modes' are not chosen by the user but discreetly configured on the back end by the operators of call centres to gadget makers (cars, smart speakers etc.) choosing to power their device with this software.
How will this shape our world?
This was originally posted on Andras Baneth's LinkedIn account.
AI Is the New Washing Machine: Freeing Us from Digital Chores
From laundry to data entry, machines free us from tedious chores. Just like the washing machine transformed lives, AI automation can reclaim our time for higher-value work.
In the early 1900s, doing laundry by hand took up to 58 hours a week. That’s more than a full-time job, and it kept (especially) women from having an actual job outside the household.
Then came the electric washing machine.
Suddenly, what took hours now took minutes... and millions of women got back their time. That shift made it possible to get more education, work, and independence.
It changed lives.
Today's chores are about digital hygiene: data entry, scheduling, bookkeeping, and so many tedious tasks.
AI automation is the 21st-century version of the washing machine.
It can (and will) take over the repetitive, low-value tasks that eat up our day.
The washing machine helped let go tasks to focus on things with more added value.
AI can do the same: freeing up time for thinking, leading, building, and solving problems.
The real value of automation isn’t the tool itself. It’s what you get to do when the mechanical stuff is done by a machine.
(Granted: as long as it's properly configured to get the job done *reliably*.)
What's holding you back from setting it up..?
This was originally posted on Andras Baneth's LinkedIn account.
100 Takes on AI: Are We Finally Learning How to Think (and Compete) Differently?
What do leading companies really think about AI? From models as thought partners to the power of proprietary data, the ‘100 Takes on AI’ compilation is packed with insights on decision-making, strategy, and competition. Here are two highlights—and a link to the rest.
There are some really good insights among the "100 takes on AI" from leading companies, like this one:
"Claude and ChatGPT have access to an endless array of mental models and strategic frameworks. So if you're making a decision, you can ask it to apply inversion thinking or other frameworks. It’s like having a thought partner with a massive database of strategic approaches.
"or this one:"
Having enormous amounts of valuable, high-quality proprietary data gives existing businesses a huge leg up today. We’ve seen people first take an AI model, tune it on some relevant public data, and then when they start working with companies, their models improve and improve because they have access to this proprietary data source through their customers.
"Read the remaining 98 here: https://lnkd.in/e_g_a4w3
This was originally posted on Andras Baneth's LinkedIn account.
Featured articles
and Insights
This compilation takes us through the history of the first #EPSO candidates, showcasing their journey and achievements from the very beginning to the present day—and even looking ahead.
A compilation of the first #EPSO candidates throughout history, until today and beyond.
(Have you played with ChatGPT-4o's new image capabilities? Pretty impressive.)
*This was originally posted on Andras Baneth's LinkedIn account.
Discover the inspiring story behind The Ultimate EU Handbook, a book born from the unexpected connection of a chance pitch and years of creative collaboration.
20 years ago, John Harper said 'yes' to an unknown person's unsolicited book pitch, which set of a chain of positive events. Yesterday, another book came to be as a result of two years' intense work and creativity of Sonia Gongu, Martin Tomov, Ljiljana Pavkov... and 'The Ultimate EU Handbook' was born.
Special thanks to Maryana Panyevina, Klym Ahrykov and David Meszaros for your support to make the launch event at Ambiorix Center & Podcast Studio special.
🇪🇺🙏📚
*This was originally posted on Andras Baneth's LinkedIn account.
What began as a discussion about burnout quickly turned into an exploration of something deeper. In my conversation with Dr. Vasadi Anna, a psychiatrist with decades of experience, it became clear that burnout isn’t just about long hours or stress—it’s rooted in expectations, upbringing, and the invisible pressures we internalize from an early age.
English summary of the latest episode of András' Hungarian podcast, 'Lélek Algoritmus – Ilyen az ember (avagy beszélgetések egy pszichiáterrel)' – 'The Soul’s Algorithm: The Human Condition (Conversations with a Psychiatrist).
What began as a discussion about burnout quickly turned into an exploration of something deeper. In my conversation with Dr. Vasadi Anna, a psychiatrist with decades of experience, it became clear that burnout isn’t just about long hours or stress—it’s rooted in expectations, upbringing, and the invisible pressures we internalize from an early age.
Burnout: More Than Just Exhaustion
Burnout gets thrown around a lot, but what does it actually mean? Many assume it’s just extreme fatigue, but as Anna pointed out, it’s something deeper. Burnout drains you emotionally, mentally, and even physically. It’s not the kind of tiredness that a weekend off can fix.
A key distinction Anna made: while depression can affect every part of life, burnout is usually tied to work. But it doesn’t stay there. It spreads—first to colleagues, then to family, then to an overall sense of disillusionment.
The Perfectionist’s Trap
Burnout isn’t just about overworking—it’s about overworking with the wrong mindset. People who push themselves too hard, who never feel their efforts are enough, who equate self-worth with productivity—these are the most at risk.
A common misconception: If I love my work, I can’t burn out. But passion doesn’t shield you. In fact, it often makes things worse. Overcommitting, ignoring personal limits, and relying on caffeine or alcohol to keep up are all red flags.
The Long Shadow of Childhood Expectations
Why do some people burn out while others keep their balance? Often, it starts in childhood.
Many of us grow up believing that our worth is tied to achievement. If we didn’t excel, love and approval felt conditional. Some parents—often unknowingly—reinforce this by setting impossibly high standards or withholding affection when a child falls short. Over time, this creates a need for external validation, making burnout almost inevitable.
Take elite athletes. Their entire identity is wrapped up in performance. When they lose, it’s not just a setback—it feels like a loss of personal value. The same happens in workplaces. A high achiever who misses a promotion doesn’t just feel professional disappointment—they feel like they have failed as a person.
Midlife Crisis: Burnout of the Soul
This naturally led us to midlife crisis, which, in many ways, is burnout playing out on a larger scale.
Both stem from the same root: spending years chasing external markers of success without stopping to ask, Is this what I actually want?
The midlife crisis tends to hit in the 40s or early 50s, often when several pressures collide:
- Aging Parents: The growing responsibility of caring for elderly parents forces many to confront their own mortality.
- Teenage Children: At the same time, kids are becoming more independent, adding another layer of emotional complexity.
- Career Pressures: By midlife, most people have built careers, but many start questioning if they’re on the right path.
It’s a perfect storm of obligations, internal and external, that makes people reevaluate everything—from their job to their marriage to their purpose.
Finding a Way Forward
So, how do we deal with burnout and midlife crisis without making rash decisions?
- Rethink Success – Instead of measuring success by salary, job title, or external validation, define it in terms of fulfillment and balance. If your work is draining you, can it really be called success?
- Recognize the Warning Signs – Losing interest in work, feeling detached, and struggling to muster enthusiasm are all early signs of burnout.
- Set Boundaries – Work will always demand more. It’s up to you to decide what is enough.
- Address Deep-Seated Patterns – If your self-worth depends on achievement, it might be time to rethink where that belief came from. Therapy and self-reflection can help break the cycle.
- Embrace Change – A midlife crisis isn’t necessarily a crisis—it can be a wake-up call. Maybe it’s time for a career shift, a realignment of priorities, or simply a different perspective.
Final Thoughts
Burnout and midlife crisis aren’t just work problems or age-related phases. They’re signals—urgent ones—telling us that something needs to change. The real question isn’t How do I push through? but Am I living a life that actually fits me?
If the answer is no, maybe the crisis isn’t a disaster. Maybe it’s an opportunity.
