by Sahana C.
There has been a lot of controversy around artificial intelligence floating around in the public subconscious this year, good news and bad working in tandem. On one hand, AI could be used to clean the ocean! On the other, writers and actors alike have been striking because of strange clauses in studio contracts involving AI. This tangle, this never-ending back and forth, coupled with fearmongering from generations of sci-fi media like Ex Machina, is exhausting after a certain point. And I understand that for a lot of people it’s frightening. The thought that we’re creating something so quickly that forefathers of the industry are asking to slow it down, that we are launching something we don’t fully understand the implications of or the ethical implications of, it all compounds. But the easiest way to fight fear of an unknown thing is to be informed, and it seems like AI is here to stay. So we need to be learning about it and using it too.

Artificial intelligence is utterly pervasive, showing up through things like ChatGPT, and while it can be used for writing papers (though it usually doesn’t do the best job and is fairly obvious), it can also be used as an editor, as a practice interviewer, as a summary tool. Google has started to introduce it slowly into its Drive suite. Adobe has introduced it into Lightroom and Photoshop to help photographers and editors make their edits in a much timelier fashion. There are countless uses, all of which can help us make more polished versions of our crafts.

We have to be careful about overstepping in the arts; it’s not acceptable that AI compiles works from artists to create art, and it should not be used to replace creatives. Artificial intelligence isn’t a creative force and while it can perhaps produce a result, a person is almost always going to make better art.

AI is a tool, one that we can use. It doesn’t have to be scary robot overlords of lore. It’s something to be aware of, and most importantly, to combat disinformation. It’s something to explore, just so we know enough to be educated.

October 9-14 is World AI Week, hosted in Amsterdam this year, where they will be making announcements about innovation in AI. We’ll hear about the ways industry is hoping to use artificial intelligence, and some of the leaders in this field will be able to interface directly with the users. It’s an important week for learning, and we’ll be paying close attention.

If you are interested in learning more about AI more generally, you can go to Gale Courses with your library card and take “Introduction to Artificial Intelligence” for free. At Byte-sized Intelligence: Lunch and Learn on October 10 (see box), we debrief you about the basics of artificial intelligence and any updates we’ve learned on the first day of World AI Week. And of course, if you, like me, process the world most effectively through literature, our collection has plenty for you to sink your teeth into.

Byte-Sized AI: Lunch & Learn
Tuesday, Oct 10 | 12 – 1 pm
Savage Branch
For adults. Register at bit.ly/HCLS_bytesized
Explore one of the most exciting and rapidly evolving fields in technology! Anyone who is interested in learning about AI, regardless of technical background or experience, can join the discussion about recent advancements.

Sahana is an Instructor and Research Specialist at the Savage Branch. They enjoy adding books to their “want to read” list despite having a mountain of books waiting for them already.