Employ information systems and current technologies to address real-world situations, informed by social and cultural perspectives.
For LIBR 575: Academic Libraries, I collaborated on a team project to develop an AI literacy instructional tool for post-secondary students. Our initial research found that as ChatGPT and other Large Language Models drastically reshape the information landscape, universities face new challenges in providing guidelines for ethical and responsible usage. A recent survey of the world’s top 50 universities revealed that key aspects, such as understanding AI algorithms, ensuring academic integrity, and promoting equity, are frequently overlooked or not comprehensively covered. Furthermore, current perspectives on AI still vary widely, which leads to significant uncertainty among students.
To address these gaps, our team used Twine 2.0, an open-source tool for nonlinear stories writing, to develop an interactive fiction. We chose this non-linear, interactive narrative approach over traditional instructional methods, such as video lectures or static text-based materials, because it creates a safe environment for students to experiment with simulated real-life scenarios. By navigating all the branching paths, students can test different decision-making strategies and reflect on the consequences of their AI usage before they encounter similar ethical dilemmas in their actual academic work. As such, this tool does not merely familiarize students with static knowledge and rules, but empowers them to proactively and critically engage with the ethical challenges of AI use and to navigate an evolving technological landscape with confidence.
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