New Voices RGU Student Series 2025 – Catrina Moyes

Category: Blog, RGU Student Series 2025

In the 2025 New Voices Student Series, the CILIPS Students & New Professionals Community will be sharing the views of Robert Gordon University students from the MSc in Information and Library Studies.

With special thanks to Dr Konstantina Martzoukou, Teaching Excellence Fellow and Associate Professor, for organising these thought-provoking contributions.  

Today’s blog post contributor is Catrina Moyes. Catrina lives and works in British Columbia, Canada, where she graduated with a Bachelor in Elementary Education. She is currently studying full-time for her MSc in Information and Library Studies and works part-time at an academic library. During her down time, she enjoys reading and walking with her dog around the city.

Changing the Information Landscape One Prompt at a Time

Whenever my sister and I are in disagreement over a topic or misremembering information, we always say to the other to “send it up to the referee”, which means get a fact check from a reliable source. Our go-to check is usually one of the many non-fictions texts in our house, however, there are times we have to rely on online sources. Lately, when I have run a fact check through a search engine such as Google, a pop up for a generated AI overview appears above any other webpage.

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is defined as an algorithm that “can be used to create new content, including audio, code, images, text, simulations, and videos” (McKinsey & Company, 2024). The new technology has exploded in popularity in the past few years, with companies like OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google all trying their hand at being the dominating service. In a digital age, where almost all information is available online and can be shared with AI, what is the point in going beyond the chat box and learning the skill of searching?

For traditional information searching on databases, users must have a control of a targeted vocabulary and an understanding of search techniques. When searching for a specific topic, it is beneficial to create a wide vocabulary of synonyms and related terms. Additionally, when searching on academic databases, the use of Boolean operators (such as AND, OR, and NOT) can assist with finding relevant articles and removing any that do not fit the topic (Robert Gordon University, 2024). These skills do require teaching and practice, and many students, myself included, can be quickly frustrated when the search does not find the correct results.

In contrast, ChatGPT and other Generative AI services can provide information based on a simple prompt. GenAI does not require any specific searching strategies, only a question to be entered into the prompt box. This is not to say that GenAI does not have a barrier to entry, as some companies do require a subscription to use their services. For libraries, Cox (2024) urges information professionals to examine the benefits and barriers of AI in their specific context.

Another caution, since Generative AI does not require any citations, is the potential danger for misinformation to spread. There is concern amongst information professionals that the prevalence of GenAI will account for a rise in “malicious use of information” (Cox, 2024). Inherent biases or falsehoods from the training material may be regurgitated to users without their knowledge. Other ethical issues for GenAI surround the training of the systems, as some of the information being fed to the AI may be stolen from content across the internet (Ortiz, 2024).

Credit: Peter Hogan

Misinformation

Information professionals will not be made obsolete with the creation and expansion of GenAI. Dr. Hersh (2024) makes it clear that while AI will assist users through the information seeking process, search techniques will continue to be relevant. The role of the information professional will change, as GenAI may take over simpler jobs as a 24/7 chatbot assistant for public and academic libraries, much like “Scout” at the Calgary Public Library (Bach, 2024).

One thing is for sure, Generative Artificial Intelligence is not going anywhere. It is up to information professionals to wade through the literature and understand the benefits and pitfalls to best support our communities, whether that be public, private, school, or academic libraries, and help users navigate the new technology.

References

Bach, J. (2024) AI: Opportunities and Concerns for Public Libraries. Available at: https://readalberta.ca/articles/ai-opportunities-and-concerns-for-public-libraries/ (Accessed: November 13, 2024).

Cox, A. (2024) ‘Developing a library strategic response to Artificial Intelligence’, eLucidate, 16(4). Available at: https://doi.org/10.29173/elucidate847

Hersh, Dr. W. (2024) ‘Search still matters: information retrieval in the era of generative AI’, JAMIA, 31(9), 2159-2161. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/jamia/ocae014

Hogan, P. (2011) Misinformation. Available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/petehogan/6072467398 (Accessed: January 18, 2025).
McKinsey & Company (2024) What is generative AI. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-explainers/what-is-generative-ai. (Accessed: November 14, 2024).

Ortiz, S. (2024) What is generative AI and why is it so popular? Here’s everything you need to know. Available at: https://www.zdnet.com/article/what-is-generative-ai-and-why-is-it-so-popular-heres-everything-you-need-to-know/ (Accessed: November 13, 2024).

Robert Gordon University (2024). LibGuides: Search Techniques: Home. Available at: https://library.rgu.ac.uk/search-techniques (Accessed: November 14, 2024).