New Report: “Generative Artificial Intelligence and the NISO Open Discovery Initiative”

From a NISO (National Information Standards Organization) Release:

The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) today announces the publication of “Generative Artificial Intelligence and the NISO Open Discovery Initiative,” a report on the 2024 AI in web-scale library discovery services survey undertaken by the NISO Open Discovery Initiative (ODI) Standing Committee.

The ODI most recently updated its Recommended Practice, “Promoting Transparency in Discovery,” in 2020, several years before large-scale Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools emerged into the public’s view in late 2023. Much as web-scale discovery changed the library discovery environment around 2010, Generative AI has the potential to be similarly revolutionary, affecting the way library users do their research and content providers share their full text and indexing.

To better understand the specific areas of interest and concern among participants in the discovery ecosystem, the ODI conducted a survey of constituents in September–October 2024, following several months of planning. The findings from that survey, detailing the hopes and fears of libraries and content providers regarding the impact of AI on content discovery, are detailed in the report. The report also covers the specific areas of work that the ODI will be taking on in response over the months to come.

“The results of the survey show just how diverse attitudes towards AI are,” says Rachel Kessler, Product Manager at Clarivate and co-chair of the ODI Standing Committee. “As the technology evolves and knowledge grows, opinions will continue to shift. It is critical to foster a spirit of transparency and cooperation within the discovery community to maintain an open dialogue”

The committee invites community feedback on their findings and hopes to use the survey results to develop guides aiding the community in navigating this ever-evolving technology.

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