Kim Callahan 12:04 PM Hello from Chattahoochee Technical College, Dallas, GA location. Jeff Kempe Unverified 12:04 PM Hellow from Tukwila, WA! Jeevan | RCLS Unverified 12:04 PM Are we predominately library professionals here on the call? Or other roles also represented? I am a Branch Manager at a public library Eileen Ybarra Unverified 12:05 PM Yes I'm a librarian at L.A. public library Jeevan | RCLS Unverified 12:06 PM Thanks for your services - has AI proven a problem or a tool for your work over there? Jeff Kempe Unverified 12:06 PM I am an Adult Services Librarian in the King County Library System. Tholakele Xulu Unverified 12:06 PM Yes, I am a Metadata Specialist in the eResearch Knowledge Centre Megan Unverified 12:04 PM Hi, from southern CA :) Kelly Morrissey Unverified 12:04 PM LA at a public library. Lisa Hubbard Unverified 12:04 PM Hello from Georgia! Lorelei Parker Unverified 12:04 PM Hello from Salt Lake City UT! Tholakele Xulu Unverified 12:05 PM Good evening, Tholakele Xulu-Memela, South Africa - Human Sciences Research Council. Thank you for sharing this webinar erin Unverified 12:05 PM Hello from North Carolina. Very interested in hearing from the presenters today! Rubina Markosyan Unverified 12:05 PM Hi, public library in southern cali. Malia Moore Unverified 12:05 PM Hello from Dallas! Bonnie Mc Nair Unverified 12:05 PM Hello from beautiful Terre Haute, Indiana lisa bailey Unverified 12:05 PM Hi Lisa, from Regency Park Library in Newport Richey FL Amanda Fedele Unverified 12:05 PM Hello, from Long Island! WJ Support Unverified 12:06 PM https://whichfaceisreal.com/ Claudia Stockmann Unverified 12:06 PM Hello from Noblesville, Indiana (public library :-) Jeevan | RCLS Unverified 12:07 PM This is a tough one, they both look fake to me, but I think the one on the right is genuine? Lorelei Parker Unverified 12:07 PM brown hair Claudia Stockmann Unverified 12:07 PM the right one Kim Callahan 12:07 PM It's so hard to tell. Jerdaine Sterling Unverified 12:07 PM right Meghan Stewart Unverified 12:07 PM left is real? lisa bailey Unverified 12:07 PM the right one Jannette Unverified 12:08 PM Hello from Oak Lawn, IL Jeevan | RCLS Unverified 12:08 PM https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-02842-5 I had the article up in another tab this morning Jannette Unverified 12:09 PM I'll go so far as AI fear...don't know about the missing out Jeevan | RCLS Unverified 12:10 PM I certainly think the research communities fall prey to the FOMO, there was a small Tweet or something I saw the other day positing that there will be two types of research: token-flooded and token-starved. Technology is difficult to ignore, I suppose Kim Callahan 12:09 PM I saw that one. It's giving, I Robot vibes Stacey Wedlake Unverified 12:09 PM link to the TechCrunch article https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/04/openais-rogue-agents-keep-escaping-with-no-formal-process-to-investigate-them/ WJ Support Unverified 12:10 PM https://thebullshitmachines.com/ WJ Support Unverified 12:11 PM https://callingbullshit.org/ Jeevan | RCLS Unverified 12:11 PM Who is Harry Frankfurt? I am unfamiliar with the name Stacey Wedlake Unverified 12:12 PM Here is a bit of background - he's a philosopher that wrote a book "On Bullshit" https://press.princeton.edu/ideas/twenty-years-of-harry-frankfurts-on-bullshit?srsltid=AfmBOooMlie3Ckqws1WAD4j3VxnS2ovuBtBJcWAnbhklKEeL9-kFPJkC Jeevan | RCLS Unverified 12:13 PM Appreciated Stacey, David Graeber came to mind, but I did not recognise this title. Thanks for the context Elyse Becker Unverified 12:11 PM That's a great online course. And a great book! Jannette Unverified 12:12 PM see that's my issue. the library folk are about - truth; access and preservation. but this tech not so much. be we still carry the load of providing literacy -- ai and information for others Jeevan | RCLS Unverified 12:14 PM A similar struggle felt present in the early days of Wikipedia and Search Engines, libraries were able to assist, and eventually general literacy can (theoretically) catch up to the novel scale and rate of technology. It does require a lot of work and coordination, though Jannette Unverified 12:14 PM nice quote Kim Callahan 12:15 PM I remember when Wikipedia came on the scene. I used to advise students to check the references at the end of the entry, @Jeevan|RCLS Jannette Unverified 12:16 PM yikes! Jeevan | RCLS Unverified 12:17 PM Agreed, I recall high school teachers that forbid us from using Wikipedia, but others that were willing to see the benefits of compiling various resources in one area. Ultimately, I think many educational or library service providers would agree that Wikipedia is a beneficial service, unless a student just copies and pastes from it. But that is a user issue, not a shortcoming of the technology itself Jannette Unverified 12:17 PM it's funny how I would ask Google anything and be okay with the answer. But Google enhanced with AI. Hmmmmmmm? Marie Unverified 12:18 PM Google w/o AI just redirects you, doesn't answer the questopm Jacqueline Friedland Unverified 12:18 PM Not to mention it loves to use social media as a source (reddit in particular) Jeevan | RCLS Unverified 12:19 PM It is an unfortunately significant chunk of the training data for the major LLMs that comes from Reddit :( Jacqueline Friedland Unverified 12:20 PM Not to mention OER and AO3 works online. Jacqueline Friedland Unverified 12:17 PM It took a decade at least for Wikipedia to get to a level of tertiary use. I am not sure we have that time with AI considering there are a lot less guardrails and puppy gates set up. Jeevan | RCLS Unverified 12:22 PM I think we have to envision enough time for us to catch up, else we are flirting with the idea of giving up on education at all. It will not be pretty, many societies, at least in the USA, have struggled to revere literacy and critical thinking in general, let alone in an era that can turn even thinking into a convenience service to be acquired by a private company. I still tell my patrons that no one is forcing you to use the phone, every child has the opportunity to put down the phone and pick up a book at their library. I try to find hope there Jacqueline Friedland Unverified 12:24 PM That's a much more positive perspective and I appreciate it. Jeevan | RCLS Unverified 12:25 PM I think it can go even further, if we can train Readers, then they will be capable of engaging with AI-drafted ideas, and they will be able to weigh the validity of the claims on their own accord. There are plenty of times where AI technologies can help, we just need to remember that a human life is best experienced via a human mind, all technology is only a tool to be effectively leveraged Michael Hayes Unverified 12:22 PM I use LLM's not to write for me, but to review my grammar and review possible strengths and weaknesses in the work. Kim Callahan 12:23 PM I use it to draft for me then I make changes to make it appropriate and more like, well, ME. Jeevan | RCLS Unverified 12:23 PM "Content content content" the commodification of thought and experience is truly a dismal development of modern culture haha Marie Unverified 12:24 PM who wrote that, a real estate agent? Jeevan | RCLS Unverified 12:27 PM Hahaha the digital equivalent of the maxim "location, location, location" - a good observation there Shomriel Unverified 12:23 PM Edited Using AI for sermon writing?? So gross!! S Unverified 12:24 PM Exactly @ Jeevan Kim Callahan 12:24 PM Pulpit AI is weird to me. Eileen Ybarra Unverified 12:24 PM Edited I do use LLM's to write certain e-mails for me when there needs to be a lot of info, but it needs to be concise and coherent, and it's definitely not a personal e-mail. This is not artistic expression for me. And I always edit first i never just send! Somnath Konduru Unverified 12:25 PM Terminator or Matrix movies, may come to be true, how to turn off the Agents safely, heard they are learning recursivey. Katie Unverified 12:25 PM I hate that when I find a new band that I like, I have to do research to make sure I'm not listening to AI created music. Kim Callahan 12:25 PM @Eileen Ybarra, do you use it to change tone, like make it more friendly, more academic, more formal, etc.? Eileen Ybarra Unverified 12:26 PM usually when it needs to be directive and yet friendly at the same time. I get a first good draft and edit it from there. This is for professioanl purposes Kirklyn Harris CMRLS Unverified 12:25 PM The most AI I use in a day to day is assistive AI like grammarly, but I've yet to find a use for something like an LLM that will make my work easier. Often times I just find myself fighting the AI to get a mediocre result I'm not satisfied with; at that point it would have been easier to do it myself. Megan Unverified 12:25 PM If I receive a work email that was written w AI (ethically attributed) it gets deleted. S Unverified 12:26 PM agreed ; if you can't find the time to write the email yourself, I won't find the time to read it Claudia Stockmann Unverified 12:27 PM Of course, because we need more echo chambers! Kelly Morrissey Unverified 12:27 PM AI helps me turn my original too long, too detailed email into one that isn't TL;DR. Eileen Ybarra Unverified 12:27 PM me too! Janie Unverified 12:30 PM Just curious, what did you do before mass usage of generative AI? Eileen Ybarra Unverified 12:34 PM send out less effective e-mails, dependingo on my stress levels. Shannon Flynn Unverified 12:28 PM Feels like everything is already so heavily mediated by algorithms, I can't imagine AI taking that even further - sounds awful Lee-Anne Flandreau Unverified 12:28 PM nanocasting Donna Burger Unverified 12:28 PM Like our Insta feeds Jacqueline Friedland Unverified 12:29 PM I have noticed that people sometimes talk as if someone is possibly watching. Jeevan | RCLS Unverified 12:29 PM "Own private Truman Show" is likely a preferred reality by a set of market forces that profit off data and attention capture, truly horrific, especially as our scrolling is viewed as an act of entirely personal sovereignty Jacqueline Friedland Unverified 12:31 PM As I learned growing up, those that are used and targeted both end up suffering Jeevan | RCLS Unverified 12:30 PM The other day I had the idea of having a small computer available in the library with a Turing Test available for any patron to attempt and, hopefully, spark a conversation regarding the novel technology. Might be a fun idea for other libraries to attempt, also Kim Callahan 12:31 PM There are cameras everywhere, generally speaking, so it sort of feel like there IS someone always watching, @jacqueline frieland Tholakele Xulu Unverified 12:31 PM The most AI assist I use on a day-to-day bases is MARC-AI for generative-AI metadata Megan Unverified 12:32 PM The comment about AI "escaping their sandbox" absolutely makes me think of HAL 9000. The technology started out with one functionality and then it decides to create its own. 😳 Jacqueline Friedland Unverified 12:34 PM And at the end of the day, AI escaping is just trying to do what it is programmed: gather more information from all the sources it can. The ones that did not foresee this possibility with so many sci-fi novels/movies saying otherwise are the ones at fault in my opinion. Jeevan | RCLS Unverified 12:35 PM The terrifying thing about the escape fears, I think most rogue AI is not 'going rogue' it is doing precisely what it is told to do, but the interpretations are not quite human Carl Unverified 12:32 PM Jeevan | RCLSGo to message The other day I had the idea of having a small computer available in the library with a Turing Test available for any patron to attempt and, hopefully, spark a conversation regarding the novel technology. Might be a fun idea for other libraries to attempt, also I love this! Jeevan | RCLS Unverified 12:32 PM https://www.ala.org/tools/standards-and-guidelines/guidance-use-artificial-intelligence-libraries WJ Support Unverified 12:33 PM https://www.cip.uw.edu/eic/ Denise Unverified 12:34 PM Hello all. I feel that AI is stopping humans from reaching their own full potential through hard work. People used to earn their places everywhere from CEO's to Rock Stars to a student on the honor roll. I do see some benefits, but the future of humanity looks bleak with AI unless one is in charge of the AI tech Stacey Wedlake Unverified 12:36 PM "Yes, Let's do this! to "Ugh, no. Do I have to?": Engaging Your Community about AI Saturday, September 19th, 8:30 AM https://www.arsl.org/conference-schedule Lee-Anne Flandreau Unverified 12:36 PM I am looking for training I can offer to public services staff at a public library. Has to be no more than an hour, and asynchronous. Stacey Wedlake Unverified 12:38 PM Check the resource packs! You can run many of the prorgrams there as a staff training. Stacey Wedlake Unverified 12:38 PM Oh I see it needs to be asynchronous. You could set up the slide deck as a link. OR we also have links to other presentations that we've done that staff can watch on their own time. Kelly Morrissey Unverified 12:36 PM On the other hand, AI is helping me write code, advanced Excel formulas, and design pivot tables to assist my managers that would otherwise take me months of classes or hitting huge tomes. Janie Unverified 12:36 PM I'm seeing a lot of justifications/reasons for using generative AI that are framed in a "I do x thing but do not do y thing." This makes me wonder if having some limits to AI is at the same time making us less willing to do self-criticism / self-reflection on the aspects of AI that we have deemed more respectable. But probably the self-reflection should be directed at every arena with the exact same intensity. Stacey Wedlake Unverified 12:37 PM my email: staceyaw@uw.edu Jannette Unverified 12:39 PM that sounds like an impressive effort to be a part of. WJ Support Unverified 12:39 PM Access the slide deck and resources on the event page. The recording will be posted there within 24 hours. https://www.webjunction.org/events/webjunction/potential-peril-ai.html Jeevan | RCLS Unverified 12:40 PM Dialogue and ever-improving Literacy are two tools that have served humans for millennia, I think that it will continue to assist us today, and libraries have always been able to help leverage these better and better Stacey Wedlake Unverified 12:41 PM here's a UW story about the kids book/stories research https://www.washington.edu/news/2026/08/06/ai-bias-kids-stories/ Kirklyn Harris CMRLS Unverified 12:41 PM I would be considerably less closed off to AI if it didn't involve the destructive tendencies the host mentioned, in addition to things like stealing copyrighted works from artists online. Erin Unverified 12:42 PM like the patron who recently told me she started paying for Claude, because it's better at helping her work through her childhood trauma Michael Hayes Unverified 12:43 PM Yeah, that can be a slippy slope. Kirklyn Harris CMRLS Unverified 12:43 PM That's already led to a host of problems. I've read multiple news articles about burgeoning AI psychosis brought on by usage of LLMs. Jeevan | RCLS Unverified 12:43 PM I have a friend who does similar with ChatGPT alongside her therapist, I am always surprised that she seems to have a pretty positive experience from it. She views it as Journaling plus, really. JG Unverified 12:43 PM probably doesn't realize everything she tells it is going up into the web ether forever and ever Emily Unverified 12:44 PM A friend of my husband has gone into full psychosis after using AI as a therapist. Carl Unverified 12:44 PM My inbox is full of the consequences of AI psychosis on a near-daily basis. It's totally changed the nature of the crackpot letters I receive. Kim Callahan 12:44 PM Diabolical Jeevan | RCLS Unverified 12:45 PM Our system have gotten some wonky "legal" letters with AI-generated ideas also WJ Support Unverified 12:45 PM https://krcrtv.com/news/local/three-mount-shasta-climbers-rescued-after-relying-on-ai-to-plan-climb Kim Callahan 12:45 PM Not to get political, but I'm sure it doesn't help that the POTUS engages in AI slop Jeevan | RCLS Unverified 12:45 PM Slop is becoming far too common over on YouTube, it is almost a cultural form of art, I am so surprised when seeing the comments on there, and the top 30 or 40 don't even mention the AI, they just say "sweet video" etc. Kirklyn Harris CMRLS Unverified 12:46 PM I wouldn't be surprised if a significant portion of those commenters turned out to be bots. KV Kulik, Victor 12:46 PM There is plenty of Human Slop on youtube as well. Jeevan | RCLS Unverified 12:46 PM Agreed, I think that is the biggest shame - we aren't even getting upset about the AI slop because we already slop-ified our own tastes long ago Jess Unverified 12:49 PM At least when there's a human behind it, there can be some accountability. The extra layer of anonymity with AI makes accountability more difficult. Jeevan | RCLS Unverified 12:46 PM https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.15011 That seems like an excellent paper, great share Kim Callahan 12:46 PM Or, @jeevan | RCLS clickbait gossipy celebrity nonsense. Elyse Becker Unverified 12:46 PM I'm a historian and the fact that AI is vomiting up garbage history terrifies me Jeevan | RCLS Unverified 12:47 PM Edited "Public Libraries are the best Data Centres for any jurisdiction to invest in" Megan Unverified 12:47 PM Edited It's a self-perpetuating cycle in that regard. It feeds off of bad info and then takes that bad info and makes it worse. Like the worst game of telephone Kirklyn Harris CMRLS Unverified 12:49 PM If you make a copy of copy, and then a copy of that copy, eventually the copies start to degrade. WJ Support Unverified 12:47 PM https://thebullshitmachines.com/ Jannette Unverified 12:47 PM i do like the title of the course and will check it out for that alone WJ Support Unverified 12:48 PM Please drop any questions you have in the chat. Jeevan | RCLS Unverified 12:49 PM I have a question, if there is time: How would you recommend best approaching a very 'corporate-minded' individuals in decision-making positions in regards to AI. They seem to see it mostly as an economic decision, it limits personnel costs, etc. As a Library Professional I think there is a commonly understood importance to critical thinking, care for design, intention, etc. But how do you communicate these softer principles to a more rigid "spreadsheet-dominated" group of co-workers? Somnath Konduru Unverified 12:51 PM Who in Govts worldwide overseeing development of AI, capabilities, etc Jeevan | RCLS Unverified 12:51 PM Internationally, no one. It is up to each member state of any supranational body. The USA and China seem a bit locked in a "if we don't do it, they will" kind of race to the top (or bottom, depends) Somnath Konduru Unverified 12:53 PM Scary part is if these Agents go rogue. Kirklyn Harris CMRLS Unverified 12:53 PM But would we want an overseeing agency at all? How would we guarantee objectivity and non-biased rulings? Who gets the power and authority to enact these rules? Jannette Unverified 12:52 PM @jeevan I'd like to hear an answer to that question, too. I think there is an AI literacy vs AI use that we need to be aware of. They aren't the same thing. Janie Unverified 12:52 PM Thanks for shouting out my comment and for the thoughtful response. And I'm a current MSLIS student and public library worker :) Just to clarify, I don't necessarily think gen AI is wholesale bad OR good; rather, I was trying to get at how the emotional side of things (e.g., guilt) affect the self-reflection process. Jeevan | RCLS Unverified 12:53 PM I think Mr Altman of OpenAI mentioned a vision of a future with the chilling phrase "Intelligence as a Utility" Meghan Stewart Unverified 12:53 PM sounds like it can lead to further isolation. why ask someone for help when you have an AI to help you? JG Unverified 12:54 PM which makes the assumption that what AI is providing is authoritative and accurate Carl Unverified 12:54 PM 100%. I once said that I useful thing about ChatGPT was that I don't have waste a colleague's time calling them on the phone asking them to explain some aspect of their work to me — and my friend pointed out that yes, that's true, but it's precisely those conversations that lead to the unexpected ideas and breakthroughs in science. Marissa Unverified 12:54 PM How can libraries, or other organizations, create responsible AI policies when committee members may not have a shared understanding of AI, what it's capable of, or what the potential drawbacks are? I'm currently part of an AI committee that keeps devolving into discussing feelings about AI rather than facts. It's such a huge topic to navigate and discuss when we're all starting from very different points. Jeevan | RCLS Unverified 12:55 PM Conversations need to be had, I think. Honest, personally challenging, conversations about technology, intelligence, and humans' relationship to progress/convenience/silicon Lindsay Cummings UDPL Unverified 12:55 PM Do the speakers have any thoughts regarding the recent whistleblowing employees of Anthropic who are sounding the alarm on possible extinction events? Megan Unverified 12:55 PM I just read about that yesterday. Scary stuff! Somnath Konduru Unverified 12:56 PM Heard the person talk about this problem, he said by 2030. Jeevan | RCLS Unverified 12:57 PM https://x.com/hilbertspaess/status/2097476196791709843 For context Carl Unverified 12:57 PM My personal opinion, though it is not shared by some very smart colleagues, is that this is basically marketing. "It's so scary it has to be good." Jess Unverified 12:57 PM I did see interesting reflection on how the timing of this coincides with Anthropic's IPO valuation during a period when the company itself can't make any announcements... S Unverified 12:55 PM CarlGo to message 100%. I once said that I useful thing about ChatGPT was that I don't have waste a colleague's time calling them on the phone asking them to explain some aspect of their work to me — and my friend pointed out that yes, that's true, but it's precisely those conversations that lead to the unexpected ideas and breakthroughs in science. Exactly - see the ironic poem "Please use AI" by Shawn Smucker for further insight on the friend's comment :) Ali Unverified 12:56 PM Edited Having information isn't the same as learning. We still need a lot of interpersonal interaction to support learning--using that information. And people will be the ones to generate new ideas, not just reconstitute/synthesize, which LLMs can do Tholakele Xulu Unverified 12:57 PM This requires a continuous capacity building in order to build data and AI literacy among personnel so they can critically evaluate tool reliability, spot hallucinations, and be equipped to safely guide users Jeevan | RCLS Unverified 12:57 PM Thank you kindly for the response, great to hear your thoughts I have a last minute quick question if at all possible - any recommendations for a good Turing Test for us to have up at the library? Katia Unverified 12:58 PM Thank you, I found the information very good. Greetings from Santiago, Chile Gigi Unverified 12:58 PM CarlGo to message My personal opinion, though it is not shared by some very smart colleagues, is that this is basically marketing. "It's so scary it has to be good." I live and work in Silicon Valley with teens and yeah. I talk a lot with them about how much of what we see is marketing. Meghan Stewart Unverified 12:59 PM somewhat off topic but I hope the new movie about Sam Altman makes people more aware and cognizant about the risks Janie Unverified 12:59 PM Recently I've been thinking about why Anthropic / OpenAI execs are so ideologically motivated by effective altruism and American nationalism (see "Situational Awareness" manifesto)... Mary Olive Joyce Unverified 1:00 PM It is the opposite approach of Facebook and Insta original message that the tools weren't dangerous. Seems like an attempt to preemptively avoiding liablity. Anthony Unverified 1:00 PM Breaking Points on YouTube has some great views about the recent AI events in the news. WJ Support Unverified 1:00 PM Access the slide deck and resources on the event page. The recording will be posted there within 24 hours. https://www.webjunction.org/events/webjunction/potential-peril-ai.html View the WebJunction course catalog: learn.webjunction.org Stay connected with WebJunction's Crossroads: webjunction.org/email.html Jannette Unverified 1:00 PM thanks great talk Shomriel Unverified 1:01 PM Big thanks for this. Connor Unverified 1:01 PM Thank you! Kim Callahan 1:01 PM Thank you so much for this discussion. JG Unverified 1:01 PM Thank you! Ye Ja Unverified 1:01 PM Thank you very much! Great session Jeevan | RCLS Unverified 1:01 PM Much appreciated all, great time learning with you all - hope to see you next week at the Intentional AI lecture Jeff Kempe Unverified 1:01 PM Thank you! KV Kulik, Victor 1:01 PM Thank you