Brewster Kahle – The Guardian: “The US library system, once the model for the world, is under assault from politicians, rightwing activists and corporate publishers. Book bans are at record levels, and libraries across the country are facing catastrophic budget cuts, a fate only narrowly avoided by New York City’s public libraries this summer. In… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Education
What’s behind the national surge in book bans?
USAToday: “…It’s impossible to know how many book-ban attempts have been inspired by BookLooks.org, which adds new reviews weekly […The site launched in 2022 to showcase a book-rating system that has also been used by right-wing political activist group Moms for Liberty.] But in one researcher’s national database tallying more than 3,000 challenges to library… Continue Reading
COVID-19 Mortality Rates Higher in States that Limited Govts from Enacting Public Health Emergency Orders
Policy Commons: “State and local governments enacted various public health emergency policies during the COVID-19 pandemic that resulted in lower infection and death rates than would have occurred without these policies. However, some states limited emergency public health authority of state executives, state governors, and state and local officials during the pandemic. This brief summarizes… Continue Reading
Open Books, Better Skills: an Argument for Limited Open Book Exams
Flanagan, Rebecca C., Open Books, Better Skills: an Argument for Limited Open Book Exams (September 1, 2023). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4563824 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4563824 “Law schools have embraced closed book exams as one response to falling bar pass rates. But due to lack of student expertise in learning and study skills, students focus on memorization as… Continue Reading
Gen AI’s ‘Collective Brain Trust’ Gathers
Law.com – Gen AI’s ‘Collective Brain Trust’ Gathers to Discuss Practical Use Cases and Successes at Invite-Only Event. At a recent daylong, closed-door gathering organized by LexFusion, early adopters from top law firms, legal departments and technology providers convened to candidly share real-world gen AI experiences and the practical insights they’ve gained thus far…Organized by… Continue Reading
ChatGPT vs. Google Translate: Which Is Better At Translation?
MakeUseOf: “Key Takeaways ChatGPT has the potential to challenge Google Translate’s dominance in machine translation due to its ability to provide interpretations of idioms, preserving meaning and intent. Both Google Translate and ChatGPT have their strengths and weaknesses in general translation accuracy, with ChatGPT getting closer to the nuance of the message in some cases.… Continue Reading
AI narrators will read classic literature to you for free
PopSci: “Recording an audiobook is no easy task, even for experienced voice actors. But demand for audiobooks is on the rise, and major streaming platforms like Spotify are making dedicated spaces for them to grow into. To fuse innovation with frenzy, MIT and Microsoft researchers are using AI to create audiobooks from online texts. In… Continue Reading
Language Models, Plagiarism, and Legal Writing
Smith, Michael L., Language Models, Plagiarism, and Legal Writing (August 16, 2023). University of New Hampshire Law Review, Vol. 22, (Forthcoming), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4542723. “Language models like ChatGPT are the talk of the town in legal circles. Despite some high-profile stories of fake ChatGPT-generated citations, many practitioners argue that language models are the way… Continue Reading
Big risk in not knowing what OpenAI is building in the cloud
ZDNet: “One of the seminal events in artificial intelligence (AI) in 2023 was the decision by OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, to disclose almost no information about its latest large language model (LLM), GPT-4, when the company introduced the program in March. That sudden swing to secrecy is becoming a major ethical issue for the… Continue Reading
NASA Publishes Beta Flagship, Science Websites as Improvements Continue
“NASA has switched its primary World Wide Web addresses to a beta version of the new NASA.gov and science.nasa.gov websites, continuing the long-term development and consolidation of its public web presence. The new sites will offer visitors an improved, intuitive web design and elevated user experience. The ongoing work on the agency’s upgraded website is… Continue Reading
Adding a ‘Group Advisory Layer’ to Your Use of Generative AI Tools Through Structured Prompting
Via LLRX – Adding a ‘Group Advisory Layer’ to Your Use of Generative AI Tools Through Structured Prompting: The G-A-L Method – The emergence of Large Language Models (LLMs) in legal research signifies a transformative shift – Dennis Kennedy asks us to Imagine a world where expert advice is at your fingertips, instantly available, tailored just… Continue Reading
Keeping Up With Generative AI in the Law
Via LLRX – Keeping Up With Generative AI in the Law – The pace of generative AI development (and hype) over the past year has been intense, and difficult even for us experienced librarians, masters of information that we are, to follow. Not only is there a constant stream of new products, but also new… Continue Reading
