You’ve probably heard something about ChatGPT. You might have even signed up for an account and used it. I have, it’s awesome. 

For those of you who are not yet familiar, ChatGPT is a type of artificial intelligence that can understand and generate natural language text. Basically, you can ask it a question or give it a prompt and it will give you an eerily human-sounding response. It’s a big deal.

Things I’ve asked it for so far:

• Composed emails
• Summarized text 
• Nacho recipes
• Children’s activity recommendations
• Knock-knock jokes

On the other hand, it is wildly controversial. At schools, teachers and administrators are grappling with what defines plagiarism as students turn in work generated by ChatGPT. Alarmingly, its systems are prone to racial and gender bias. Finally, while it’s generally pretty accurate, sometimes it will straight-up lie. It’s called “hallucinating.” (When I was researching law and Easter Island, it gave me a very plausible story about how the Rapa Nui people sued H&M in 2019 over using the sacred Moai statues in a marketing campaign. Sounds so true – but upon fact-checking, it was completely made up!)

Now, where does this leave libraries? Are there any ways ChatGPT could benefit them? Here are a number of manners in which ChatGPT could affect libraries:

• Reference services: One of the most obvious ways in which ChatGPT could be used by libraries is in providing reference services to patrons. For example, a library could create a chatbot that uses ChatGPT to answer common questions about library services, resources, and policies. This could help to reduce the workload of librarians and improve the speed and efficiency of the reference process.
• Collection development: Another way in which ChatGPT could be used by libraries is in helping to develop collections. By analyzing large volumes of text and identifying trends and patterns, ChatGPT could help librarians to identify new and emerging areas of interest and ensure that their collections are up-to-date and relevant.
• Outreach and engagement: ChatGPT could also be used to engage with library users and promote library services and events. For example, a library could create a social media chatbot that uses ChatGPT to interact with users and provide information about upcoming programs and services.
• Information literacy: ChatGPT could also be used to support information literacy instruction. For example, a library could create an interactive tutorial or game that uses ChatGPT to provide feedback and guidance to users as they learn to evaluate sources and conduct research.
• Language learning: Finally, ChatGPT could be used to support language learning. For example, a library could create a chatbot that uses ChatGPT to interact with users in different languages, providing them with opportunities to practice their language skills and learn new vocabulary.

What if I told you that ChatGPT wrote that entire list? Sure it’s not great, but it’s definitely a foundation. This is where I find ChatGPT’s greatest virtue: it helps get your ideas started and it’s up to you to review, fill in, and improve. For an amazing list of implications for libraries (touching upon topics like open access, digital literacy, etc.) written by an actual human, read this excellent article. I recommend exploring ChatGPT on your own a little bit, just so you know what the fuss is about.