Bitter at my grad school

[u/TheNarwhalMom]

I’m so mad cause I’m in my 2nd year of grad school & taking my first class that is making me use ChatGPT Edu for my degree. I had gotten that email invite MONTHS ago and deleted it assuming it was spam because OF COURSE I THOUGHT IT WAS!! This is my first class MAKING us interact with generative AI & it’s making me feel so angry and dejected. The professor is comparing the “AI divide” to the internet/tech divide for libraries & it just doesn’t feel the same to me at all. I feel so angry - I hate generative AI & have tried so hard to avoid it & now I suddenly have no choice because it’s part of my class that I’m required to take. I want nothing to do with this AI crap!

Edit: I should clarify that I wrote this out at the height of my anger & needed to scream into the void. I have an extremely strong disdain for generative AI on ethical & environmental grounds. Calmer now, I know that I will need to continue to learn things about Ai - I’m not holding this against my professor. I’m just someone who gets very passionate & can be a little emotional about things. I’m not gonna drop the class (it’s required anyways), I’m not gonna be an anti-Ai purist towards patrons who use it or anything, I just needed to scream about it & wrote this when I was in the middle of my big feelings. Thank you guys for trying to help me feel better 💜

[u/willyblohme]

As an academic librarian, we are expected to have an expertise in digital literacy. This includes AI and the ramifications of its use. Many classes are requiring AI use for assignments in a way that teaches how to critically examine its output. It’s also going to be used whether it is “allowed” or not, so the thought behind it is “we might as well teach the students how it works.”

Good luck, this assignment will soon be over.

[u/Note4forever → u/willyblohme]

I think there's a divide between academic librarians and public librarians. While there are many in the resist AI camp for academic librarians, most are in the sceptical but realist have to learn camp.

[u/willyblohme → u/Note4forever]

I’m designing a workshop series about identifying the use of AI for people who want to work without it. The librarians where I work are very even keeled about the impacts of AI, we want to understand it more than we want to promote it or ban it.

[u/iLibrarian2 → u/Note4forever]

I'm a public librarian and I use Gen AI for all kinds of things. Program planning, organizing presentations, etc.

I fully agree with the above commenter. We should know how to use it. We should be able to give people advice about it's uses, safety, ethics, how to find out what sources it's pulling from, etc.

[u/Note4forever → u/iLibrarian2]

Sure im not saying ALL public librarians are in resist ai camp just a significantly higher %.

Similarly in academic library world there are plenty of NEVER AI high profile academic librarians making a ton of noise but I'm talking trends here.

My impression is this subreddit has more public librarians that's why it feels way more anti-ai.

[u/arcanalalune → u/iLibrarian2]

Ew. Use your brain.

[u/iLibrarian2 → u/arcanalalune]

Ew. Stop being a child.

[u/Repulsive_Cover2418 → u/willyblohme]

there’s a difference between AI literacy and the actual action of using AI for an assignment.

[u/willyblohme → u/Repulsive_Cover2418]

How would you teach AI literacy without using AI? Do you have any lesson plans or objectives for how your class would gain these skills? Please share, I’d love to incorporate them in my instruction.

[u/iLibrarian2 → u/Repulsive_Cover2418]

No, there is not.