New Jersey Artificial Intelligence

Welcome back to another edition of the NJAI Newsletter, proudly presented by LibraryLinkNJ, the New Jersey library cooperative. In this issue, we've included insights from our AI Ambassadors, upcoming events, as well as news from the ever-evolving landscape of AI.

In an effort to provide consistent and collaborative AI-related support and brainstorming for public and academic libraries, we're excited to announce the AI Ambassadors are joining LibraryLinkNJ staff for Virtual Office Hours! On the third Friday of each month, Jon Braun will be joined by two ambassadors, ensuring a diverse range of expertise and perspectives. Bring your questions or simply join us for a discussion on what's keeping our attention in the AI space!

August 16th • September 20th

via Zoom at 10am

Visit librarylinknj.org for more information

Check out this recorded webinar with AI Ambassadors Andy Woodworth and Heather Lubchansky as they share feedback from their presentations highlighting AI in libraries. With Andy’s focus on applications in academic libraries and Heather’s experience in public libraries, this was a great opportunity for other AI Ambassadors who were developing their own presentation to ask questions and gather suggestions.

Watch this recorded presentation by Nick Tanzi as he discusses a host of ethical issues libraries will need to navigate as we chart a course through the age of AI. This talk highlights a number of concerns, ranging from algorithmic bias to user privacy, as we work to answer the question: how can we adapt to a changing technology landscape while staying true to our professional ethics?

Eight months following the conclusion of the NJ AI Ambassadors training program, it's impressive to see the impact of countless presentations and skill-sharing discussions. With the end of June marking the program's presentation deadline, we look forward to sharing the highlights of what has been shared by our Ambassadors throughout the state. Thank you to all of our program participants!

A survey of over 1,300 high school seniors in the United States, revealing how students have been utilizing AI for academic work and college searches. Some interesting findings from the research include that over a third are using AI for schoolwork, while only a small number are leveraging it for their college search processes.

Read the Full Article on SubStack

Online influence operations based in Russia, China, Iran, and Israel are using artificial intelligence in their efforts to manipulate the public, according to a new report from OpenAI. Bad actors have used OpenAI’s tools, which include ChatGPT, to generate social media comments in multiple languages, make up names and bios for fake accounts, create cartoons and other images, and debug code.

Read the Full Article on NPR.org

Andy Woodworth shared a link to a BBC article in which Sony Music, Universal Music Group and Warner Records say Suno (see below) and Udio have committed copyright infringement on an "almost unimaginable scale". Andy mentions a perspective comparing the potential outcome of current legal discussions to the Google Books lawsuit. In that case, scanning books was deemed transformative and not infringing. Similarly, training AI with music like Nirvana or ACDC doesn't enable extracting the original content. Observers await whether this legal precedent will guide similar cases.

Read the Full Article on bbc.com

Jim Craner shared some relevant links and commentary.

• ChatGPT biased against resumes that imply a disability -- University of Washington
  Interesting note here is that if the AI is explicitly prompted not to be ableist, it will do so.
• Privacy Notes: Opting out of AI Companies' Storage -- Shira Ovide, Washington Post
  Detailed instructions for enhancing the privacy of your AI conversations and hopefully preventing future AI chatbots from remembering private details. Note that some AI providers do not offer opt-out options!
• Rising anti-AI, "LLM-free" movement -- Brian Merchant, The Atlantic
  I've seen lots of pundits predicting an increase in this sentiment...
• AI "art" and uncanniness -- Cory Doctorow
  Doctorow, as usual, approaches the AI image / intellectual property issues with sophistication and nuance -- great read!

• New AI Guidelines Aim to Help Research Libraries (IHE)
• Apple Proved That AI is a Feature, not a Product (Wired)
• Guidance for AI-Assisted Inventions (Mashable)
• If AI Can Do Your Job, Maybe It Can Also Replace Your CEO (NYTimes)
• Chatbots Are Entering Their Stone Age (Mashable)

• Don't Call Them AI "Hallucinations!" (Sree - Substack)

During a session at the 2024 GAIL (Generative AI in Libraries) Conference, a collection of small, simple, single-task tools were introduced named Goblin Tools. Initially designed to help neurodivergent people with tasks they find overwhelming or difficult, you may be surprised by the amount of ways in which this could be helpful! The tools are free to use via the website, but are also available as mobile apps on Android and iOS for a small fee.

In our previous issue, we highlighted Suno AI. This application focuses on generating short music clips based on text-only prompts. As part of our highlight, we encouraged readers to give the tool a try and share any music that they created. Please check out the songs below and feel free to share your creations for featuring in a future newsletter.

• Heather L. (version 2.0) Rage Against the Router

• Jon B. (version 2.0) Carlos in My Mind
• Jon B. (version 3.5) Clicking the Links

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