{"id":33856,"date":"2025-12-10T10:27:29","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T16:27:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/?p=33856"},"modified":"2025-12-10T10:27:29","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T16:27:29","slug":"lets-talk-about-ai-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/2025\/12\/10\/lets-talk-about-ai-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Did You Fall for the Bunnies, Too? Let’s Talk about AI"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This post is the first in a multi-part series on artificial intelligence.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You might remember the video that was everywhere this past July of the cute bunnies jumping on a backyard trampoline at night caught by a home security camera? The caption read, \u201cJust checked the home security cam and\u2026 I think we\u2019ve got guest performers out back!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was late on a Friday night as I scrolled through my Instagram feed to unwind that I came across the video. It was adorable and feel-good. These little fluffy bunnies were jumping around like little kids having the time of their lives. It was just the right kind of wholesome moment I needed after a long week, and I immediately shared it with my husband because I wanted him to feel the same lift. Not only was he not impressed, but after a whole two seconds, he said flatly, \u201cIt\u2019s fake.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I immediately retorted, \u201cNo, it\u2019s not\u201d more out of sheer disbelief that I could have actually fallen for a fake video than because I genuinely believed it was real. He said, \u201cYes, it is. Read the comments.\u201d To my utter shame and mortification, the video sure was fake<\/a>; it was an AI-generated video. I have been a librarian for 20 years and am now the Digital Literacy<\/em> Consultant at the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. How <\/em>could this have happened to me?? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As it turns out, moments like this are becoming more and more common. The reality is that there is a new technology that has seemingly permeated every aspect of our digital lives and it\u2019s only getting more sophisticated. Generative artificial intelligence is everywhere now, and no one is completely immune to being fooled or from encountering it in the tools we use every day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This isn\u2019t the first time technology has challenged our profession, and it won\u2019t be the last. Every major technological change has pushed librarians to adapt, and every time, we\u2019ve stepped up as guides. Generative artificial intelligence (AI for short) is no different. Our patrons are already using it, exploring it, and sometimes misunderstanding it. AI is here to stay, and we can\u2019t sit on the sidelines because we\u2019re afraid of it or don\u2019t understand it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that we don\u2019t have to be AI experts. We just have to be willing to explore, ask questions, and guide others. The more we understand these tools, the better we can help our patrons use them safely and responsibly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So let\u2019s start at the beginning. To help our communities navigate this new landscape, we need to understand a few basics. Whether you\u2019re new to AI or knee-deep in it, establishing a shared understanding will help us better support our communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Things to Know about Generative AI<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Artificial intelligence has been around for a long time, Alan Turing laid the foundational work in the 1950s, but today we are specifically talking about generative AI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n