Technologies are transforming society
The next major trend identified in the just-released IFLA Trend Report Literature Review focuses on what the ongoing evolution of technology might mean for the knowledge and information environment in the future.
Already in the second exercise of our workout, we looked at some of the fundamentals around what we will consider as knowledge and information in the future. This touched on the increasing volume of material we’re likely to see, and the implication of it being harder and harder to believe what we can see.
Key to these are the development and roll-out of new technologies, making information creation and (ab)use easier. But technological change deserves a dedicated section.
Crucially, technology is a tool. Any process of technological innovation, leading to a new product or other output, is followed by a process of more practical innovation, as people work out how and for what purposes they can use it. These can be positive or negative, deliberate or accidental. There will often, also, be a process of legislative or regulatory innovation, as governments decide how they want to govern the new technology’s use.
Except in some rare cases, the route to maximising the positive while minimising (or eliminating) the negative is not likely to pass through blocks or simply putting on the brakes.
In Europe, for example, the precautionary principle (which goes in the direction of greater caution around change) is balanced with an innovation principle (which favours ambition). The logic is that there are opportunity costs to delays which can come at the expense of those who might benefit most.
The question therefore is – how can we as libraries be innovators ourselves in how to use technologies to the maximum benefit of the communities we serve. Similarly, how can we be actors in relevant regulatory processes, making sure that the way that technology is governed maximises the positive and minimises the negative from our point of view? A particular task is how to ensure that we ‘do’ technology in a way that works for everyone.
Through this, we can be better placed to shape the future of knowledge and information, rather than simply being left to deal with its consequences.
The Trend Report Literature Review highlights a number of relevant examples here, including both the positives and negatives of Generative AI and digital twins. The latter is particularly interesting, offering rich possibilities around preservation (for example at the level of countries and cultures at risk of disappearance), but also questions about privacy and selfhood.
Other sub-themes include the harms of deep fakes and security threats, but also exciting possibilities to interact with information in ways that can support education and research, as well as better connectivity in general.
Only in Brisbane!
At the IFLA Information Futures Summit, you’ll be able to explore these themes in particular at our opening keynote session, where Marek Kowalkiewicz will share insights from his work on the role of algorithms – digital minions – in our lives. IFLA President-elect Leslie Weir will also be chairing our panel on AI & I, also on Day 1, digging into what Marek’s speech means for libraries.
Another great pairing of sessions is Professor Jean Burgess’ keynote on Day 2, followed by the digital social justice panel. Both of these explore questions about the impacts of technology on different parts of society, and what libraries can do about this. More specifically focused on the academic space, Daniel Hook’s keynote on scholarly communication in the linguistic age (also on Day 2) will also raise highly relevant questions for libraries.
Finally, make sure to bookmark our Ignite Talks, with many of our speakers also set to talk about technology used in library work, today and tomorrow.
Look out for the next step in our workout, focused on how trust is being renegotiated in the knowledge and information space.