Cox, A. orcid.org/0000-0002-2587-245X and Mazumdar, S. (2022) Defining artificial intelligence for librarians. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 56 (2). pp. 330-340. ISSN 0961-0006
Abstract
The aim of the paper is to define Artificial Intelligence (AI) for librarians by examining general definitions of AI, analysing the umbrella of technologies that make up AI, defining types of use case by area of library operation, and then reflecting on the implications for the profession, including from an equality, diversity and inclusion perspective. The paper is a conceptual piece based on an exploratory literature review, targeting librarians interested in AI from a strategic rather than a technical perspective. Five distinct types of use cases of AI are identified for libraries, each with its own underlying drivers and barriers, and skills demands. They are applications in library back-end processes, in library services, through the creation of communities of data scientists, in data and AI literacy and in user management. Each of the different applications has its own drivers and barriers. It is hard to anticipate the impact on professional work but as information environment becomes more complex it is likely that librarians will continue to have a very important role, especially given AI’s dependence on data. However, there could be some negative impacts on equality, diversity and inclusion if AI skills are not spread widely.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s) 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage). |
Keywords: | Artificial Intelligence; machine learning; robots; equality, diversity and inclusion; future of the profession |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Information School (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 23 Nov 2022 10:37 |
Last Modified: | 16 May 2024 14:28 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | SAGE Publications |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1177/09610006221142029 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:193263 |