Before Week 1 · The AI-ICM at a glance

Three views of the framework you will be using

The AI Impact Communications Model has three parts: nine constructs you specify, six non-negotiables every service must meet, and three evidence layers holding it all together. Week 1 introduces them properly. This is the orientation view.

Select a construct to see what it covers and when you specify it in the course.

Construct 01

Trust and transparency

How your service shows its working to the audiences it serves. Source attribution, AI-assistance disclosure, abstain-and-escalate logic, complaint workflows. The operating layer that shapes every other construct.

Specified in Week 6
Construct 02

Personalisation

Consent-first, layered, reversible tailoring, with a high-quality non-personalised path always available. Tailoring is opt-in, purpose-specific, and logged.

Specified in Week 8
Construct 03

Storytelling

Curated narrative assets and the rules that govern them. Facts-and-options panels, risk-and-action pairing, AI-generated visual and audio governance.

Paired with multi-platform in Week 7
Construct 04

Multi-platform

Equivalence of meaning across channels. Same meaning, different form. Headless content patterns, accessibility parity at display, AI-mediated search adaptation.

Paired with storytelling in Week 7
Construct 05

Targeted distribution

Equity-aware segmentation, frequency caps, and discretion-based delivery. Where commercial digital logic collides most directly with high-stakes communication ethics.

Paired with strategic repetition in Week 9
Construct 06

Strategic repetition

Spaced reinforcement keyed to journey stage rather than engagement, with stop rules and fatigue monitoring built in.

Paired with targeted distribution in Week 9
Construct 07

Integrated planning

The governance backbone. Planning spine, canonical topic register, prompt governance, brand voice specification, journey map.

Specified in Week 13
Construct 08

Social factors

Connection without exposure. Pseudonymous participation, consent-first visibility, cultural safety verification, moderation including disclosure risk.

Specified in Week 10
Construct 09

Continuous review

Indicator architecture, dashboards that drive action, drift detection, feedback loops, crisis communication protocol. How the service stays good after launch.

Specified in Week 11
Six items. The floor, not the ceiling. Every AI-enabled communication service should meet these, in every domain, every time. Your plan can require more. It cannot require less.
1

Source visibility

Audiences can see who wrote it, when it was reviewed, and what version they are reading.

2

Consent-first personalisation

Tailoring is opt-in, purpose-specific, reversible, and logged. A strong non-personalised path always exists.

3

Accessibility at display

The content meets accessibility standards in the channel where the audience actually sees it.

4

Abstain and escalate

When the system is unsure, out of scope, or seeing risk signals, it pauses and hands off to a human.

5

Risk and action together

Any risk message is paired with something the audience can actually do, and a route to support.

6

Change control

Every material change has a record, an audit trail, and a way to roll back.

Three bodies of evidence hold the framework together. You will not specify these directly. Week 3 walks you through them.

Layer 1 Behaviour science

What we know about how people actually change behaviour. The behavioural-evidence anchor that runs through every construct's design rules.

Covers frameworks such as COM-B, the Behaviour Change Wheel, and the Theoretical Domains Framework.

Layer 2 Communication science

How messages get processed, accepted, or rejected. The communication-evidence anchor.

Covers the Elaboration Likelihood Model, narrative transportation, fear-appeals and risk-action pairing, and acceptance models such as TAM and UTAUT.

Layer 3 AI governance

The regulatory and standards environment your service has to live within. The governance-evidence anchor.

Covers NIST AI RMF, ISO/IEC 42001 and 42005, the EU AI Act, sector-specific frameworks, and country-specific guidance such as Australia's October 2025 Guidance for AI Adoption.