Towards Data-driven GIM tools: Two Prototypes

Here we describe two approaches to improve group information management (GIM) and draw on the results of prior works to implement them in software prototypes. The first aids browsing and retrieving from large and unfamiliar collections like shared drives by dynamically reducing and re-organising them. The second supports the transfer and re-use of collections (e.g. to/by successors, descendants, or curators) by integrating novel sorting and annotation features. The prototypes' source code is shared online and screenshots are presented in the accompanying poster.

Actionable Approaches to Promote Ethical AI in Libraries

The widespread use of artificial intelligence (AI) in many domains has revealed numerous ethical issues from data and design to deployment. In response, countless broad principles and guidelines for ethical AI have been published, and following those, specific approaches have been proposed for how to encourage ethical outcomes of AI. Meanwhile, library and information services too are seeing an increase in the use of AI-powered and machine learning-powered information systems, but no practical guidance currently exists for libraries to plan for, evaluate, or audit the ethics of intended or deployed AI. We therefore report on several promising approaches for promoting ethical AI that can be adapted from other contexts to AI-powered information services and in different stages of the software lifecycle.

Not Quite 'Ask a Librarian': AI on the Nature, Value, and Future of LIS

AI language models trained on Web data generate prose that reflects human knowledge and public sentiments, but can also contain novel insights and predictions. We asked the world's best language model, GPT-3, fifteen difficult questions about the nature, value, and future of library and information science (LIS), topics that receive perennial attention from LIS scholars. We present highlights from its 45 different responses, which range from platitudes and caricatures to interesting perspectives and worrisome visions of the future, thus providing an LIS-tailored demonstration of the current performance of AI language models. We also reflect on the viability of using AI to forecast or generate research ideas in this way today. Finally, we have shared the full response log online for readers to consider and evaluate for themselves.