With the boom in tools that use Large Language Models to train AI, such as Chat GPT, also comes a boom in false and misleading advertisements and products that are produced by AI. One big issue that libraries are dealing with is the proliferation of books written with AI. Not only are these books harming the livelihood and reputations of the authors they imitate, but they also have the potential to be physically harmful, as is the case with books on wild foraging full of misinformation on eating wild plants that could be imparting deadly advice.

Because one of our goals with our collections is to “emphasize truthful and trustworthy information, fighting all forms of disinformation, censorship, and barriers to free inquiry” we will be extra careful in selecting our materials in print and digital to avoid these types of AI-generated items. But how can you spot them? The Today Show has a short segment with the salient facts and background.

In today’s world it is more important than ever to protect yourself against disinformation and scams like these fake books. Luckily, there are organizations working to educate everyone about how to be more savvy, and the Library is hosting two free events to do just that! On March 19th at CLP – Knoxville and on April 23rd at CLP – Brookline, you can learn with the University of Pittsburgh’s Disinformation Lab about how to spot fake news.

 

You can sign up for a free library card here.

If you are new to our eResources, check out these tutorial videos on how to get started.

If you’re looking for more book suggestions, we’re happy to recommend them to you! Use this Book Recommendation form to send us some information about what you like to read and we’ll curate a list just for you.

If you have any additional questions, you can contact a librarian through Facebook, Instagram or X. You can also call us at 412-622-3114 or email us at info@carnegielibrary.org.