I took my kids to the library last week because they wanted to learn more about the prizes for summer reading, but also because my 8-year-old had a very important question about space: What's beyond black holes?
Now, this is a question that I'm not even sure NASA knows the answer to, but there's no harm in asking a librarian who can then recommend books or resources that might talk about black holes.
... At least, that's what I thought was going to happen.
We went to the desk. We asked a librarian. And the first thing she did? Plugged my kid's question into Copilot.
Now, you all know I'm not an AI girly. (Or at least, I hope you know. I assume that's at least part of the reason you're here.) And some of you probably ALSO know that I worked at an Information School for almost 7 years, and have a huge contingent of librarian friends. So when I tell you that watching this MLIS-holding information professional plug a question into Copilot shook me to my fucking core, I am not exaggerating. We are watching, in real time, as big tech slowly takes away our ability to think critically, find information, and pursue higher knowledge, even when doing those things is our entire livelihood.
And I could have said something. I should have said something. But as I watched her read the regurgitated answer from the LLM directly to my children, what did I do?
Nothing. I didn't do jack shit. I just fucking froze.
And I'm still mad at myself, almost a week later, because I wish I would have gently pushed back. Partially to get the librarian to think twice about using AI as a primary source, but mostly to set the example for my kids that we shouldn't be taking the easy way out, especially at the expense of our values.
This is why I continue to assert an AI-free social media experience β as much as possible, anyway β in my work. There are always going to be inherent challenges with that based on the way social media platforms are structured (you can't even look up a username on Instagram without summoning Meta AI, for example), but I am committed to doing my best to keeping things human, keeping things creative, and keeping things thoughtful β as all good work should be.
And as for the librarian? I may mention it next time we swing by for books. At the very least, if anything like this happens again, I feel prepared to push back. Not out of disrespect (librarians work hard as hell and are under constant threat in the current political climate), but out of regard for the nature of information work, out of determination to uphold my values, and out of a desire to build a better future for my kids and the generations to come.
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