More Information Than I Can Share

Several weeks ago, I attended a webinar titled Inclusive and Ethical A.I. for Academic Libraries. The content was interesting and informational, but it’s difficult to condense an hour-long conversational webinar into a short Flickertale article. This article provides a few question/answer segments from the presentation.

Karim Boughida—Dean of University Libraries—Stony Brook University
Keith Webster—Junior Dean of the University Libraries—Carnegie Mellon University
Kim Nayyer—Edward Cornell Law Librarian
Alexia Hudson-Ward—moderator

Alexia:
What can academic library leaders do to be sure inclusive A.I. is being supported and promoted in the library and on campuses?

Karim:
The ethical and main goal for implementing and teaching A.I. should be to extend human intelligence, not replace it. Karim strongly encourages academic libraries and library staff to be involved in the guidance and governance of A.I. on campuses. He believes A.I. is transformational and can help librarians serve their communities, but services should focus not only on technical aspects, but ethical and societal impacts as well. Ethical concerns can be alleviated through

• programs that teach how to ethically interact with A.I. 
• instruction that explains the societal impact of A.I. 
• welcoming all people to A.I. labs by hiring a diversity of students in race, sex, and gender to staff the lab. A diverse staff also brings in various background knowledge, ways of working with A.I., and influences decisions being made. 

Alexia:
How should library leaders and staff start preparing and supporting inclusive A.I. within their libraries and institutions?

Kim:
Because technology and A.I. are part of life, library leaders should encourage all staff to become more hands on and overcome any fear or anxiety they may experience while working with technology or A.I. Instead of asking IT for assistance, individuals can learn more about A.I. and tech by delving in and working to find solutions or figuring out how a product works. Since A.I. wasn’t created or designed with ethical or inclusive standards in mind, it is important for everyone to become more involved and informed on these topics by using the A.I. programs, learning from them, and becoming an active voice in the decision making process of ethically implementing the products.

Keith:
It is imperative that everyone in the library be provided opportunities to experiment with, learn from, and understand some of the ethical concerns of A.I. Through communication and training, potential downsides of A.I. can be assessed and confronted as it continues to change how technology is used in society.

Keith explained that there is much to learn about using A.I., so A.I. literacy should be the primary focus in library outreach for all types of libraries. It is a library’s responsibility to provide A.I. education to colleagues and communities. He views “inclusive A.I.” as a subfield of “ethical A.I.,” so programs should focus on being unbiased, accessible to everyone, and benefit all members of society. The programs should not exclude minority, marginalized, or underrepresented groups in any manner. 

Alexia:
What does professional development look like for librarians, how do library leaders upskill or reskill for the age of A.I.?

Karim:
Before libraries and their staff can move forward or keep up with the ever-changing A.I. landscape, library directors/leaders must support and guide professional development for library staff. Entities who lack leadership in promoting, reskilling, or upskilling will find it more difficult to catch up on or keep up with A.I. technology.

Keith:
Time, resources, and learning opportunities will enable employees to transition from concern about A.I. to applying skills while using it.

Kim:
Professional development budgets need to be increased and individuals be allowed to learn in areas important to them. A.I. professional development can take place through

• colleagues, who are more familiar with A.I. and A.I. resources, sharing their knowledge on blogs.  
• casual seminars. 
• informal research and knowledge sharing groups sharing ideas and asking questions.  
• reading (a short article), sharing ideas, and asking questions.  
• lunchtime workshops to share resources and collaborate with others. 
• each staff member actively engaging in reskilling and upskilling their A.I. knowledge and experience. 
• actively engaged teachers instructing students in foundational A.I. topics such what an LLM is, what machine learning means and doesn’t mean. 

These were the final questions posed to the panelists.  

1. How should library staff and leaders be thinking about and preparing to address ethical dilemmas that are A.I. related?
2. How can academic libraries successfully navigate, change, and reduce fears that come with implementing more A.I. tools within our work?

Consider viewing the webinar in its entirety to hear how the panelist responded by clicking on the link listed as a reference.

Reference

Inclusive and Ethical A.I. for Academic Libraries. YouTube. (2023, December 8). https://youtu.be/uVtBINoJdvk?si=MZgMTqX3j-18ZrQP