Core Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Libraries Interest Group

Hey everyone, my name is Joy DuBose and I am one of the co-chairs for the AI and Machine Learning Interest Group. My fellow co-chair, Peter Musser, and I have decided to create this open Connect discussion for the interest group. Feel free to introduce yourselves, put out ideas for future discussions or for programming, post questions about situations in your institutions, and any other topics that you think the interest group, or the co-chairs could help with.

If you need or want to contact Peter and I directly, please feel free to do so. We are looking forward to "meeting" and  hearing from everyone!

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Joy DuBose
Associate Professor, Special Collections/Projects Cataloger
Mississippi State University
She/Her/Hers
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Hi all, I'm Peter, the other co-chair for the AI & Machine Learning interest group! A bit about me, I work as head of library services for a nonprofit that operates in the Open Education realm to make open educational resources (OER) more accessible. My big "skin in the game" for AI & machine learning is that I'm looking at how we can use AI to analyze OER and generate useful and accurate metadata. Since we work with resources that are already licensed for re-use, it gives us a bit more flexibility in working with them without worrying about violating copyright/whether or not something qualifies as "fair use/fair dealing."

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Peter Musser
Co-chair, CORE IG for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Libraries

Head, Library Services
ISKME
He/Him/His
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I'm Wilhelmina Randtke (I use "Mina" for short).  I'm interested in this group claiming the role of libraries in artificial intelligence.  Machine learning and analyzing large amounts of text started out heavily rooted in my field, which actually is government documents and libraries.  Because that's where the text was.  Core concepts that libraries are heavily involved in, like metadata, and ontologies, can be used with machine learning to get much better results.  Especially, ontologies help to set up algorithms to learn efficiently and accurately from large amounts of text.  Also, search engines both designing and using those parallels current artificial intelligence issues.  At heart, for decades, there has been a black box element to search engine placement where search engines are already matching on synonyms and determining associations by pattern recognition in the information they indexed.  Artificial intelligence ethics and search engine ethics are basically a Venn diagram.

Something I would like to with this group is raise awareness of how libraries already are central to and relevant in artificial intelligence.  Libraries teach information literacy, and with new tools for creative work, that teaching is super relevant to these new situations.  And libraries have worked in the past with generating metadata and other generative processes, to where machine learning has often built on or dovetailed with library technical services.

Things that I think this group could realistically do is:
Advertise and highlight library related AI events and trainings.
Possibly do a virtual reading group about AI with articles that are 2-3 pages long, depending on if people were interested.
Possibly do a virtual group where members could meet on screensharing do a run through of any upcoming conference presentation about AI, and get feedback from other members.
(Those 2 of reading group and run through and feedback on presentations could possibly be combined, like usually have a reading group but also have a standing offer that any member of the interest group can volunteer to do a run through of an upcoming conference presentation and get feedback from members.)
So... I personally am following the U.S. current activity to develop and solidify a U.S. federal government strategy for artificial intelligence ethics.  Some info about that is here https://www.ala.org/rt/sites/ala.org.rt/files/content/SRRT/Newsletters/srrt222.pdf (at page 11).  I would be super interested to connect with anyone else who would like to write filings when the U.S. government asks for feedback on specific issues.  The turn around time to file comments can be as fast as 30 days, so this would definitely have to be something where it's people who are super committed to hurry up and wait for months at a time, then write together on short notice.

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Wilhelmina Randtke
Head of Libraries Systems and Technologies
Georgia Southern University
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Hi, I'm Meg, and I'm grateful that this group exists- thank you, Joy and Peter for co-chairing! I'm a library administrator here at the University of Delaware, and I'm primarily interested in how libraries are  positioning themselves as partners and experts in the broader campus conversations of generative AI in teaching, learning, and research.  I think this group can do a lot to discuss how libraries can activate expertise fromacross their organizations to contribute to campus policy regarding data, privacy, contribute to local projects to develop AI-driven tools, and best practices for teaching with AI. I'd be interested in discussions of how libraries are both engaging in this space as well as structuring commuities of practice and professional development programs at the same time so that staff gain a sense of self efficacy in using/examining/ consulting on these tools- not an easy task!

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MegGrotti
Associate University Librarian for Learning, Engagement and Curriculum Support
University of Delaware Library
mgrotti@udel.edu
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