AI and Information Access: Benefits, Challenges and Lessons

n Libraries and information services are constantly evolving and adapting to the capacity and capabilities offered by emerging technologies. With the emergence of Generative AI, the information sector wonders how it will impact information users and professionals. The book examines this vital question by first raising evidence-based questions around user interactions with AI and its efficacy in providing responses that are relevant and suitable for specific user needs and contexts. Through the critical analysis of these case studies, the book discusses whether and how the conventional models of information search process, information seeking and retrieval, are applicable to explain the user interactions with the Gen AI tools for information access. This approach to AI and information explores n n- the impact of AI tools on information by changing user behavior, shifting the gap in user access and impending users to find the best data and being critical; n- how libraries and database search services adapt these tools to improve access to information and data; n- the ways in which the use of these tools could generate new knowledge in information science, seeking and retrieval research, and education; and n- how these tools can be trained to best fulfil the user's needs and context. n While exploring the implications of AI for the overall library and database services, the book will aim to portray the overall picture of applications of Generative AI in the information science field. n