Hi Lois,
I really appreciate your thoughts on the post! The externalized costs of technological change are something I think a lot about. When I worked in public libraries, I spent countless hours coaxing our patrons through badly designed job application portals, convoluted payroll websites, etc. I used to fantasize about billing these corporations by the hour, since apparently they couldn't be bothered to hire a UX designer and preferred to foist the responsibility off on me. And of course, that doesn't begin to capture the harm done to folks who never find their way to the library and don't have the social supports to navigate these processes.
These days website usability has improved, but the quality of online information seems to be deteriorating. I'm curious to see how it plays out - if a wide enough swath of the population realizes that their Google results are filled with junk, maybe consumer outrage will move the needle? It's hard to say - after all, as tech commentators have been reminding us for years, the customers are advertisers and data brokers, not end users.
Becky
Becky Schneider (she/her)
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-----Original Message-----
From: Lois M. Leveen <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, July 5, 2023 9:03 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] The UncommonWealth
Unstated in this excellent piece is how this “free” technology is already generating enormous costs, and who bears that cost. In this example, we see how ChatGPT invents a citation that doesn’t exist, and two Library of Virginia staff devote considerable time trying to locate the non-exist “source” for a researcher. Multiply that times every reader who might try to pursue an invented citation, and consider the toll on library budgets.
This, of course, does not begin to approach the toll when the invented citations involve things like fabricated medical interventions, etc.
It’s true that every new information technology — such as the printing press — can have radical and unexpected effects. But the level at which these technologies can rapidly spread completely invented “information” is unprecedented.
All of which underscores the problem with our general assumption that new technology always equate to progress, and that technology should only be regulated AFTER it had done tremendous harm.
Librarians do a tremendous amount of good in this world; I just hope we aren’t about to drown them in impossible responsibilities.
Lois Leveen, PhD
Portland OR 97214
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she/her/hers
Latest article: Imperfect Justice in the Imperfect Archive: Uncovering Extrajudicial Black Resistance in Richmond’s Civil War Court Records <https://www.journalofthecivilwarera.org/2023/02/imperfect-justice-in-the-imperfect-archive-uncovering-extrajudicial-black-resistance-in-richmonds-civil-war-court-records/>
> On Jul 5, 2023, at 6:18 AM, Brooks, Vincent (LVA) <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> The advent of generative artificial intelligence technology, like ChatGPT, will have a significant impact on information consumption. Information professionals and information literacy will play a crucial part in how we adapt to this innovation. Read more in today's The UncommonWealth.
>
> https://uncommonwealth.virginiamemory.com/blog/2023/07/05/the-case-of-
> the-phantom-article-libraries-and-chatgpt/
>
>
> Vincent T. Brooks
> Senior Local Records Archivist
> Library of Virginia
> 800 East Broad St.
> Richmond, VA 23219
> 804-692-3525
> Fax 804-692-2277
> The Uncommonwealth<https://uncommonwealth.virginiamemory.com/>
>
>
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