Jim Craner's blog

There are a lot of companies working on AI-based products and services right now.  In our AI workshops for public librarians, we primarily use tools from OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT.  But we also stay up-to-date on the other players, including Google.

As of today, we still view OpenAI's GPT-4 as the most useful general AI model, whether proprietary or open source.  Lots of AI-based products and services, including our own PLAID training app, are built around OpenAI's models.  But Google has recently announced a push to integrate their "Duet AI" into their Google Workspace offerings.  These are presumably variations of the beta AI tools that have been in Workspace for a while, and they're intended to compete with Microsoft's Copilot offerings in Office.

In a live demo this week, we tried it out! 

This brief video (just 2 minutes!) shows off some of the highlights of our "Public Libraries & AI" training that we began earlier this year!  Our next sessions begin in September so sign up to learn more about how AI works and how it can work in your library. (closed-captions available)

The folks at LibraryThing recently released Talpa.AI, an AI-powered book search tool that can search metadata - including cover images from LibraryThing's collection.

I thought I'd share some of the links that we're reading in this week's PLAID workshops...

This week's "AI in the News" roundup:

Pew says "few have tried" ChatGPT -- but 1 in 7 doesn't sound too "few" to me. Good article on the spread of ChatGPT in the US:

https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/05/24/a-majority-of-america...

In our Library AI workshops, we mention the potential of AI-based tools like ChatGPT to assist with library services like Readers Advisory ("RA"). However, until recently, we only had anecdotal examples of how ChatGPT performed at this task.

So, we've spent some time lately figuring out how to methodically explore ChatGPT's capability as an RA tool.  It's slow going -- we've just dipped our toe in the water, so to speak -- but we see some great potential!

ChatGPT and other AI systems are becoming more popular, but they have drawbacks such as outdated knowledge and a tendency to provide false information, or "hallucinate" in AI terms. Using the "retrieval" technique in AI-based apps can give you the benefits of a chat interface along with more relevant and timely information.

Have you seen one or two articles about Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the news lately? Or maybe one or two thousand? AI is already changing how people work, and that includes library staff. That's why we're kicking off our summer 2023 training season with a deep dive on AI in the library.

The Galecia Group is excited to sponsor PLAID3, a free virtual summit dedicated to exploring the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in public libraries. This groundbreaking event, taking place on March 28th, aims to bring library leaders together to discuss and discover how AI can enhance library services, collections, and operations.

As a leader in library technology and innovation, The Galecia Group's mission has always been to empower public libraries with the tools and knowledge needed to adapt and thrive in an ever-evolving landscape. PLAID3 is a natural extension of this vision, as it provides an opportunity for library professionals to learn about AI, its applications, and its ethical implications in a supportive and interactive environment.

Library funding can be a challenge in the best of times -- and that's why EveryLibrary's Library Advocacy and Funding Conference in September is going to be so important!  (Disclosure: we've been proud partners and supporters of EveryLibrary for quite some time!)