It’s a Bird, It’s a Brain, It’s Generative AI!

How are academic libraries and research environments confronting artificial intelligence (AI)? Since ChatGPT was released to the public in late 2022, librarians, instructors, and higher education administrators have grappled with generative artificial intelligence (AI) and its implications for teaching, learning, research, and writing. Using "Diffusion of Innovation" as a theoretical framework, the audience will engage in discussion about how libraries and educators are using AI tools. We will discuss the variety of information management problems for which generative AI offers a solution. Finally, we will consider a spectrum of acceptable uses for generative AI. Drawn from a year spent discussing and using AI in an academic library setting, this session offers participants the opportunity to think about AI from practical and philosophical standpoints. Participants will not only gain knowledge about practical applications for AI, but more critically, they will be able to consider why they might embrace or resist it.