Tag: Artificial Intelligence

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The AI Trust Crisis

A Strategic Opportunity for Libraries

Society is at a crossroads. Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping (or going to reshape) virtually every industry. Yet, in the latest poll by You.gov, the public trust in AI is Plummeting like circulation stats during the pandemic closures. This isn’t just another tech wave— it’s a defining moment for libraries to step up as trusted guides in an era of digital uncertainty.

The Big Picture

After three decades in library tech, I’ve seen plenty of trends come and go. The March 2025 survey results from You.Gov paints a striking picture:

Public skepticism of AI has jumped from 36% to 44% in just three months.
58% of Americans fear deep-fakes; 53% worry about privacy.
41% want stricter AI regulations.

Here’s the paradox: trust is declining, but AI adoption is accelerating. People voice concerns but they’re already using AI tools for resumes, research, and creative projects—whether our institutions acknowledge it or not. And the more often people use AI, the more positive their outlook about it’s effect on society.

If this feels familiar, you may have been around for the early days of services like Wikipedia. Internet users embraced it long before traditional institutions did and oddly enough it wasn’t the end of more scholarly, authoritative services. In fact, it significantly enhanced their status.

Why This Matters for Libraries

Libraries have always been champions of knowledge, privacy, and digital literacy. Here in this moment is the opportunity for us to lead again—not just as information stewards, but as AI literacy centers. Our communities need reliable voices to cut through the hype, fear, and misinformation surrounding AI. In an era where libraries are increasingly under fire, this specific pivot would seem obvious, important and maybe essential.

What Library Leaders Can Do

For directors and senior managers navigating this shift:

  • Position libraries as AI literacy hubs
  • Train staff on AI tools
  • Develop AI education initiatives
  • Form AI local advisory committees

For technology teams, the shift to AI requires thoughtful planning:

  • Assess AI integration standards
  • Strengthen data governance
  • Build AI-ready frameworks

The Workforce Evolution

Let’s also address the giant pink elephant in the room: job displacement fears. A full 48% of workers worry AI will replace them. Some will be correct. Knowledge workers in the library are not immune. But history and my own life experience suggests other options are possible and even more probable. Libraries didn’t disappear when we moved from card catalogs to online catalogs, when services like Google or digital downloads came along.

We adapted.

AI won’t replace libraries; but it can transform them. Our goal should be to harness the leverage AI offers to boost our efficiency, enhance services, and expand our impact.

“Quick Start” Action Steps

For Directors & Managers:

  • Audit your library’s AI readiness.
  • Develop an AI integration roadmap.
  • Invest in staff AI training.

For Technology Teams:

  • Evaluate infrastructure needs.
  • Review AI capabilities in vendor services.
  • Establish AI governance frameworks.

For Front-Line Staff:

  • Begin AI literacy training.
  • Gather patron feedback on AI use.
  • Share real-world AI applications and concerns.

The Path Forward

Libraries have always been more than a collection of books. We are community anchors, advocates for privacy, and champions of access and inclusion. From offering internet services to leading digital literacy programs, we’ve guided our patrons through every major technology shift.

AI is the next chapter and it’s time to turn the page.

What is the AI strategy in your library?

Are you leading the way or waiting on the sidelines?

Share your thoughts below and let’s shape the future together.

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Disrupting the Disruptors

There’s a little company out there with incredible influence on popular music and you might never have heard about them. A dedicated team of researchers is spying on radio stations, listening and recording every title played. When I worked there many years ago, we didn’t really realize it was a technology company.

We just loved the work.

– Can you imagine getting paid to listen to music or watch MTV and VH-1 all day?

The company is now called Mediabase 24/7 and I was very fortunate to work for them when they were based in Michigan. Our team of researchers monitored radio airplay on four formats in about 65 cities across the US. Each week we published our data in a magazine (and later pioneered an online data service).

Like Billboard magazine, we tabulated ‘charts’. Only our charts were fact based, disrupting an industry practice known as “paper adds” which made other industry charts of the era unreliable slop, factually speaking.

Billboard was decidedly not happy about us.

Shortly before Mediabase relocated to California, I got a call from ‘the Billboard Guy’. He bragged about their new [AI like system] that used automation to count ‘musical finger prints’ from radio airplay.

“Genuine rockets scientists created this.” he said smugly. “BDS is going to dominate this business.”

I never really knew exactly why he called me: to boast and brag. Was it a warning?

I only knew this: Their ‘sh*t’ didn’t work.

I’d seen the data: hallucinations, missing elements. BDS was incoherent and incomplete. Our human researchers crushed their automation. It wasn’t even close.

~ We had more data, were more accurate and our charts were significantly more reliable.

10 years later, Medibase was still there.
~ I was working for Paramount Television, a division of MTV parent VIACOM.  They never asked about my previous life as a music industry spy.

Probably because MTV was already dying.

20 years later, Mediabase 24/7 was, you guessed it– still there. Humans still identify songs on the radio [and other places]. The wiki isn’t clear on this point but Mediabase, now a small division in a corporate behemoth partnered with [or began using or buying– seriously, BDS –FIX your Wiki!] the BDS automation system [now called “Luminate”].

And Magic Happened.

Technology had improved the monitor collection process dramatically. And the talent of the small but very skilled team was able to leverage the BDS AI to achieve productivity increases of 10-12x {maybe more}. The company used this value add to expand into global markets and generate the kind of revenue we could only dream about in 1992.

Almost 30 years have now gone by and Mediabase Charts have displaced Billboard almost everywhere, including on the beloved radio show “American Top 40 Countdown” (now with Ryan Seacrest) created by Casey Kasem. MTV is a relic, stuck in an 80s trivia category known as “TVLand that Time Forgot“.

Life Lesson:
“Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.”

AI didn’t replace the people— it empowered them. Technology improved, but the real game-changer was the fusion of human talent and AI. Now, AI is coming to virtually every industry. In a NYT Interview, Ben Buchanan, the former special adviser for artificial intelligence in the Biden White House forecasts that the time to “Artificial General Intelligence, may only be two or three [and not 10] years away.

The real stars of the next 30 years will use AI to leverage talent, skill and knowledge and not just to replace humans.

What are you doing to prepare for the next wave of disruption?