Librarians as Digital Literacy Leaders in the Age of Generative AI and Ethical Challenges: A Study

Abstract

In content creation, what is on the lips of every technology driven person is the Generative AI or generative artificial intelligence which refers to the use of AI to create new content, like text, images, music, audio, and videos. The birth of this computer propelled technology has given rise to a period of innovation which has transformed the way data is being harnessed, produced, applied, synthesized and utilized. This technology presently is permeating virtually in all human fields of endeavor including education which is the hallmark of societal development and sustainability. The irony of it is that there are two sides to this technology, the good and the ugly and librarians being facilitators of information literacy seem to be in-between the two sides to bring a balance and orderliness within the information disordered ecosystem by ensuring that users of all sort are equipped with requisite Information Literacy (IL) skills. This work therefore is an overview of Generative-AI as a concept, information literacy, digital literacy and ethics as well as Generative-AI ethical challenges and risk, librarians’ role as information literacy facilitator in a Digital era and expected role of Librarians as Generative-AI literacy facilitators that will help curb ethical challenges and risk posed by Generative-AI in the global society. In all, regardless of the fact that the emergence and advancement of Generative Artificial Intelligence (Generative-AI) has created an era of innovation and like a wild wind blowing and altering the way data is being created, generated, engaged, analyzed, and used, one can deduce that there are two sides to it, the good and the ugly. Ugly side of it is that there are many risks posed by generative AI. Just like other forms of AI, it has been discovered that generative AI can affect ethical issues and risks surrounding data privacy, security, policies and workforces. Generative AI technology can also potentially introduce a series of new business risks like misinformation, plagiarism, copyright infringements and harmful content and lack of transparency among others. In some quarters, some experts believe that risks posed by generative-AI are enhanced and more concerning than those associated with other types of AI. In view of identified risk, it was suggested among others that there is need for the integration of digital ethics with digital literacy as it has significant consequences for educational settings and needs a comprehensive strategy for digital education that combines the development of skills with moral introspection in view of the fact that Librarians are essential in helping students and educators become ethically aware and technologically literate, enabling them to appropriately navigate the digital world.