Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Laura Marshall: Library and Information Association of New Zealand Executive Director on AI books in libraries

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Laura Marshall: Library and Information Association of New Zealand Executive Director on AI books in libraries · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

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  Speaker 1: If you listen to the show yesterday, you know I
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  Speaker 1: talked a lot about AI and AI taking over our
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  Speaker 1: lives and taking over our jobs. Well, here's another prime
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  Speaker 1: example of this. Turns out quite a few New Zealand's
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  Speaker 1: Live of New Zealand's libraries either already have or are
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  Speaker 1: open to stocking books written by AI authors. Laura Marshall
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  Speaker 1: is the executive director at Library and Information Association New Zealand. Laura,
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  Speaker 1: good morning, Good morning, Ryan Is. Do you know of
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  Speaker 1: any AI written books in libraries yourself?
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  Speaker 2: Yes, there are a few, but from our experience and
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  Speaker 2: talking to library managers, there's not that many. There's only
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  Speaker 2: a couple. There's only a couple of supplies that even
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  Speaker 2: provide them in New Zealand. So I don't believe that
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  Speaker 2: there as many within New Zealand libraries.
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  Speaker 1: Yet would you read one?
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  Speaker 2: I'd probably read one just to see what it was like.
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  Speaker 2: But to be honest, I think they're just an interpretation
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  Speaker 2: of our thoughts. I think it's just a good copy,
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  Speaker 2: so I'm not really there interested in exploring them long term,
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  Speaker 2: but I'd probably read one just to see what it
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  Speaker 2: was like.
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  Speaker 1: This is the problem, though, what if you read it
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  Speaker 1: and it's good, you know, I mean, is that a
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  Speaker 1: little bit scary that thought?
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  Speaker 2: To be honest, when I use AI myself, it's interpreting
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  Speaker 2: my thoughts, but it never comes out perfect, and it's
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  Speaker 2: never enough to entice me to think that it could
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  Speaker 2: replace myself, or it's we give it the information. I
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  Speaker 2: don't truly believe that AI could tell our stories. Especially
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  Speaker 2: in New Zealand, we have very next stories. You have
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  Speaker 2: people's experience as almost doing it's just interpreting those stories
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  Speaker 2: and that information, and I don't believe that it can
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  Speaker 2: really do that very well.
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  Speaker 1: Yet does AI?
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  Speaker 2: Well?
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  Speaker 1: I mean, I suppose the internet generally. Sometimes I'm surprised
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  Speaker 1: libraries are still going. But then but then I walked
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  Speaker 1: past them and they are full. So how do you
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  Speaker 1: explain that with the Internet.
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  Speaker 2: So libraries are also community hubs to meet people, it's
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  Speaker 2: places to go to community programs, it's places to interact.
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  Speaker 2: They really are quite an amazing ecosystem. They also reflect
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  Speaker 2: the community, so they're an amazing place. But believe it
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  Speaker 2: or not, issues and libraries are actually going up. Just
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  Speaker 2: because someone's reading a book online or on their iPad,
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  Speaker 2: it doesn't mean they're not reading, so issues are just
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  Speaker 2: going through the through the roof. Libraries have never been
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  Speaker 2: more successful. They're just an amazing ecosystem, an amazing place,
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  Speaker 2: and I don't think AI and the Internet is going
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  Speaker 2: to turn that around.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, interesting, What about if there's a book that's written
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  Speaker 1: by AI that's really good and that people want, like,
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  Speaker 1: you know, there's people are asking it reception, whatever do
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  Speaker 1: you think do you think her libraries should provide it?
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  Speaker 2: Yes, libraries usually do stock customer requests and it comes
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  Speaker 2: down to how many times a book is issued. No,
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  Speaker 2: I doubt they're going to fill an entire library full
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  Speaker 2: of AI written books. And if we had this conversation
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  Speaker 2: of five years, Ryan, I doubt there would be that
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  Speaker 2: many books that we've good enough to pass the test
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  Speaker 2: to get into the library. But yes, we do respond
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  Speaker 2: to the public as well. We have to respond to
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  Speaker 2: what people want to read. And I also believe that
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  Speaker 2: if you're reading anything, it's better than reading nothing, getting
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  Speaker 2: into the habit of literacy and reading a book, so
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  Speaker 2: better better than nothing.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. Absolutely, Hey, Laura, appreciate your time this morning. Thanks
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  Speaker 1: for coming on the show. Laura Marshall. Library and Information
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  Speaker 1: Association of New Zealand. For more from Early Edition with
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  Speaker 1: Ryan Bridge, Listen live to news talks it'd be from
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  Speaker 1: five am weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio