Episode 26 (Oct 2023) Pitchforks and Torches and So Much More!

Beth Patin, Dave Lankes & Mike Eisenberg

Description

We’re back and where do we begin? Beth, Dave and Mike return to the podcast microphones after a summer break from recording, but certainly not a break from incredible developments in the library, information, and technology worlds. Headlines include: Not just censor, but actually close libraries! Invasion of the AIs, aka large language models (LLM). Dis-information – the new normal? Teaching – forget social media, smart phones, Zoom, and the pandemic. Is it real or is it ChatGPT? In this episode, Beth, Dave, and Mike push back – but in a positive way. How can libraries and supporters generate more and better responses to censorship and book banning? And how dan we prepare communities and individuals for living in this “new AI’ world?

References & Resources

Wazzup?

Association for Rural and Small Libraries https://www.arsl.org/
ARSL conference https://www.arsl.org/

Myers, Steven Lee (Sept. 27, 2023). “E.U. Law Sets the Stage for a Clash Over Disinformation,” New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/27/technology/disinformation-law-european-union.html

Meadows, Sedona (September 10, 2023). “Hereford family looks at patriarch’s historic steps in Huntsville civil rights history ,” Fox 54 News, Huntsville, AL. https://www.rocketcitynow.com/article/news/local/sonnie-hereford-family-looks-at-patriarchs-historic-steps-in-huntsville-civil-rights-history/525-034af947-b0ad-4536-8b59-727e96e07a7e

“Cycle the South Hope Ride (2023) American Cancer Society https://secure.acsevents.org/site/STR?pg=entry&fr_id=105021

AI Watch

Barr, Alistair (Aug 30, 2023). “ ‘Data leverage’ and the Harry Potter test: How much is a single book worth to a giant AI model?” Business Insider https://www.businessinsider.com/data-leverage-harry-potter-test-putting-value-data-ai-models-2023-8

Weatherbed, Jess (Aug 14, 2023). “The New York Times prohibits using its content to train AI models,” The Verge, https://www.theverge.com/2023/8/14/23831109/the-new-york-times-ai-web-scraping-rules-terms-of-service

Pendharkar, Eesha (August 21, 2023). “An Iowa District Used AI to Figure Out Which Books to Ban,” Education Week  https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/an-iowa-district-used-ai-to-figure-out-which-books-to-ban/2023/08

Thorbecke, Catherine (Mon September 25, 2023). “Now you can speak to ChatGPT — and it will talk back,” CNN Business  https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/25/tech/chatgpt-open-ai-humanlike-update/

McAuliffe,  Zachary (Sept. 21, 2023). “OpenAI Brings ChatGPT and Dall-E Together for Next-Gen Image Creation,” CNET https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/george-r-r-martin-john-grisham-and-other-writers-sue-openai-for-copyright-infringement/

Eliot, Lance (Apr 4, 2023). “Using ChatGPT To Control And Leverage Other AI Apps Such As Hugging Face Gets You HuggingGPT, Prompting Eyebrow Raising By AI Ethics And AI Law,” Forbes, https://www.forbes.com/sites/lanceeliot/2023/04/04/using-chatgpt-to-control-and-leverage-other-ai-apps-such-as-hugging-face-gets-you-hugginggpt-prompting-eyebrow-raising-by-ai-ethics-and-ai-law/?sh=122c194ca6f7

Main Topic

Wikipedia contributors. (2023, October 9). 2021–2023 book banning in the United States. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2021%E2%80%932023_book_banning_in_the_United_States&oldid=1179362783

Archie, Ayana (September 20, 2023) “There have been attempts to censor more than 1,900 library book titles so far in 2023,” NPR, https://www.npr.org/2023/09/20/1200647985/book-bans-libraries-schools

Awesome Library Thingy

Pierre, Janae and Marcelle, Jared (Sep 27, 2023).  “Despite criticism, the Jay-Z exhibition at Brooklyn Public Library gets an ‘Encore’,” (Gothamist. WNYC. https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/despite-criticism-the-jay-z-exhibition-at-brooklyn-public-library-gets-an-encore

Nguyen, Rosie (July 26, 2023). “HISD to eliminate librarians and convert libraries into disciplinary centers at NES schools, KTRK, ABC News 13, Houston. https://abc13.com/hisd-libraries-librarians-media-specialists-houston-isd/13548483/

Serrano, Alejandro (September 7, 2023). “Federal Judge Bars Texas from Enforcing Book Rating Law,” Texas Tribune, https://www.the74million.org/article/federal-judge-bars-texas-from-enforcing-book-rating-law/

Gutman, David (Sept 20, 2023). “Embattled WA library wins lawsuit, won’t shut down after book-ban fight,” https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/embattled-wa-library-wins-lawsuit-wont-shut-down-after-fight-over-books

Filed under: Dr. Beth Patin, Dr. Dave Lankes, Dr. Mike Eisenberg, Season 3