On 21-25 August 2023, the city of Rotterdam hosted more than 3000 delegates from over 100 countries gathered for the 88th edition of the World Library and Information Congress - IFLA World General Conference and Assembly 2023.
IFLA is the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. In continuity with the mission and vision defined in the IFLA Strategy 2019-2024, the roadmap "for the library field, by the library field", the motto of this year's Congress was "Let's work together, let's library!" with the sub-theme "Building a sustainable future through the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals)".
Information professionals, in various capacities, participated and became actors in numerous initiatives between the Netherlands and Belgium addressing sensitive and urgent topics for the world of libraries, culture and information. They confronted each other and created significant moments of discussion, exchange of ideas and perspectives: On the external perception and real position of libraries in being places of education and information, preservation and dissemination, places of aggregation and community; on the continuous evolution of the role, the figure and, not least, the skills of librarians and librarians; on the increased awareness of the impact of the work of information professionals on users; on the capacity for inclusion; on the need to reaffirm universal and community-oriented strategies and services in current and changing contexts, not only in a historical and geographical sense; on the use of new technologies and the implications arising from them.
New technologies and, specifically, generative artificial intelligence, machine learning-based tools, ethics, opportunities and controversies, were the topics of many of the working sessions during the Congress.
Among these was the Open Session Will Generative AI be a friend or foe in the future of librarianship? promoted and organised by the Digital Humanities and Digital Scholarship Special Interest Group (DH/DS SIG) in collaboration with the Artificial Intelligence Interest Group (AI SIG) that opened the day on Tuesday 22. Moderated by Xuemao Wang (Northewestern University Library, United States), the session hosted six speakers from five continents:
- Leo S. Lo (College of University Libraries and Learning Services dell'Università del New Mexico, USA), Prompting the Future: I bibliotecari all'intersezione dell'IA e dell'ingegneria dei prompt
Mojca Rupar Korošec (Biblioteca nazionale e universitaria (NUK), Slovenia), Alfabetizzazione etica dei dati in biblioteca - Fehintola Nike Onifade (Biblioteca Universitaria e Dipartimento di Comunicazione e Studi Generali, College of Agricultural Management and Rural Development, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokutaè (FUNAAB), Nigeria), Generative AI Versus Intellectual Capacity and Knowledge Development: Una crisi di tendenza
- Sadariyah Ariningrum Widjiastuti (Biblioteca nazionale dell'Indonesia, Indonesia), Crisi del servizio di consultazione nella ricerca: Una minaccia o un'opportunità per i bibliotecari?
Rossana Morriello (Politecnico di Torino, Italia), AI generativa per migliorare la scoperta delle collezioni bibliotecarie attraverso metadati inclusivi e documentati - I-Ling Cheng (Graduate Institute of Library and Information Sciences, National Chung Hsing University (NCHU), Taichung, Taiwan), Should Generative AI Be Embraced or Restricted in Libraries?
The session started with a lightning talk in which, in a few minutes and with the help of three slides, each speaker illustrated possible scenarios with respect to the proposed topic, highlighting potential benefits and risks. Themes of accessibility, curation and analysis of content, data and metadata, the creation of digital collections, collaborative knowledge emerged. Among the risks and concerns highlighted were the exacerbation of inequalities and gaps, libraries being 'supplanted' and dehumanised by AI, and the lack of regulation in the use of applications deemed high-risk.
The speakers also offered a lively intellectual challenge and 'provoked' an interesting debate with an audience - more than 300 participants - who actively contributed to the discussion, intervening to agree, disagree or even add new arguments to issues where libraries, librarians and librarians are stakeholders.
The session aimed to investigate the state of the art in the world of libraries, communication and information and possible future developments: AI is rapidly changing the behaviour and expectations of users of library services and resources, in terms of information and content creation, posing new challenges in terms of literacy, critical awareness, approach to knowledge and changing the user experience with more fluid and enhanced expectations.
The assembly recognised as appreciable the potential of generative AI tools as they can be integrated, when not already largely integrated, into data management and content creation systems. It also saw a positive role for AI in bringing about social benefits (e.g. by breaking down language or accessibility barriers); contributing to progress and innovation; stimulating economic growth and competitiveness; and supporting education through opportunities for inclusion, access to resources tailored to specific needs, and personalised learning with a view to improving the quality of education and helping prepare individuals for the world of work.
At the same time, the limitations, challenges and risks that an indiscriminate or irresponsible use of AI and machine learning-based systems entails for society, democracy, ethics, security and privacy were highlighted. These last two topics have been most promoted by the public involved in the debate and who identify themselves among the 'frenemies', i.e. those who, despite having developed a positive approach, express perplexity, underlining the proliferation of disinformation or, so to speak, more convincing disinformation, and the monopoly of information to the detriment of those who do not possess the tools and/or the possibilities to filter or verify information, leading to involvement and negative influence on people's opinions.
In this context, the role of the librarian becomes decisive for the control and verification of sources and data, for widespread correct information and greater visibility of collections, preserving and confirming our advocacy in the role of educators and informers: information literacy, information retrieval, ethics literacy, etc.
The discussion also underlined a not marginal aspect: for AI to be an opportunity for libraries, it is necessary that librarians/librarians prepare themselves to manage it by rethinking their role and operating proactively. Proposals therefore emerged to redefine the expertise and know-how of librarians, who must stay up-to-date with new technologies, evaluate solutions and explore use cases, educate users in the responsible use of generative AI, and develop digital skills to learn how to correctly assess the potentials of AI.
In conclusion, the problems of current AI systems, ranging from copyright to ethical issues, hallucinations and biases, emerged from the session, and key elements of the library profession such as facilitating access to knowledge, collaborating, inspiring, monitoring, and respecting ethical parameters were reiterated. A spirit of active participation in change, and not mere adaptation, emerged, as well as a commitment to building new scenarios and experimenting with new technologies, including generative AI tools in the library.
