Smart Assistants
like Siri, Alexa, or Google Echo.
- Your Library
- Connect
- Events & Programs
- Read, Learn & Explore
Artificial Intelligence is transforming the world, for better or worse.
The Library's work to understand and explore AI in partnership with community is not about validating its use but acknowledging that it is already here. As always, the Library's intention is to create space for informed discussions, diverse opinions, and shared learning in our communities. This access to information and commitment to intellectual freedom is at the core of what we do as libraries.
Artificial Intelligence, or AI for short, is an umbrella term we use to describe a variety of complex technologies that allow computers to perform tasks which typically require human intelligence, such as learning, problem solving, and decision making.
It’s essential to know that AI does not think or understand in the same way a human does. AI models process massive amounts of data like numbers, text, or images and learn to recognize patterns. AI then builds on those patterns to predict outcomes or generate new content. Some AI can imitate human expression, but it does not have awareness, intuition, empathy, or creativity.
Different types of AI are used for many purposes and specialized tasks, across many contexts and industries. One of the most visible types today is Generative AI (or Gen AI), which specifically refers to AI models that can generate new content such as a piece of writing, an image, or a conversation. ChatGPT, Midjourney, Claude, DALL-E, and Gemini are some examples of Generative AI.
like Siri, Alexa, or Google Echo.
like Google Maps, Apple Maps, or Waze.
in streaming services like Netflix, Spotify, or Disney+.
like Nest or Ecobee.
like Roomba, Dreame, or Roborock.
like Uber or Lyft.
like Apple, Fitbit, or Garmin.
like Grammarly or WordTune.
like Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude, or DALL-E.
The human brain strengthens connections that are used frequently and prunes away ones that aren’t. It’s literally a case of “use it or lose it”. Real learning requires friction. Are you comfortable letting AI do your thinking for you, or do you want it to be a tool that enhances your own knowledge and skills?
One way to preserve human agency, ensure learning, and keep your grey matter strong is to make an AI sandwich.
Do your own thinking first! Write down what you already know, start a rough draft, or sketch a few thumbnails. Think about what you’re trying to achieve, and what specific tasks you want to use AI to help with.
Example: You write a first draft of an email to your manager about a project that has run into a problem, deciding what you want to say and considering your relationships with the people involved.
Use narrow, thoughtful prompts and make it a conversation, refining your questions as you go. Build on what you already had and what the AI produces to create a final version.
Example: Use an AI like Claude to enhance your work, with a prompt like, “I am emailing my manager to ask for advice on a problem that has come up. Does the tone of this draft sound appropriate?”
Now review the results. Use your own judgment and remember what you were trying to accomplish. Did you get what you needed from the AI? Does the end result make sense to you and express your voice and perspective? Does it feel right, and is it accurate?
Example: Claude highlights a couple of places where the tone is too passive and suggests some alternate word choices. Use your own judgement to mix and match and end up with an email that hits all the right notes but still sounds like you.
Artificial Intelligence is a general purpose technology, like the automobile, electricity, or the internet. It is changing the world, providing tremendous benefits while also raising urgent and difficult questions about its adverse impacts. Explore some of the positive and negative ways AI is shaping our world. View list of resources.
The Mayo Clinic is already using AI to personalize migraine treatments and analyze the CT scans of stroke victims in a fraction of the usual time, saving millions of their brain cells. Researchers are creating specialized AI models to detect cancer at earlier stages, identify health trends, and develop new drugs more quickly and inexpensively than ever before. Using AI tools in healthcare has the potential to save millions of lives each year.
AI processes vast datasets that would take humans decades to analyse. It's helping scientists model protein structures, discover new materials, track asteroids, and simulate climate patterns, pushing the boundaries of what we can learn about our world and universe.
AI is being used to optimise energy grids, reduce waste in manufacturing, and improve weather forecasting. It helps researchers monitor deforestation, track wildlife populations, and model climate scenarios, giving us powerful tools in the fight against environmental destruction.
AI-powered tools can read text aloud for the visually impaired, generate real-time captions for the deaf, and translate languages instantly. New voice recognition apps can normalize speech patterns for people with Parkinson’s or cerebral palsy. These technologies break down barriers, making information and communication more accessible to people of all abilities.
Using AI to analyse soil conditions, spot pests and diseases before they spread, and predict weather patterns can help farmers worldwide grow more food with fewer resources. Systems using AI are helping farmers optimise irrigation and reduce pesticide use with better targeting, contributing to more sustainable and efficient food production worldwide.
AI is projected to contribute trillions of dollars to the global economy by 2030 as businesses create new jobs and increase productivity. It empowers small businesses with tools once available only to large corporations, levelling the playing field.
AI can help teachers reduce their workloads by automating grading and administrative tasks. Adaptive learning platforms can adjust content and pacing to match individual student learning needs, letting each student in a complex classroom learn in their own way. AI-driven assistive technologies can also remove barriers for students with learning differences and disabilities.
Gen AI models have been trained on enormous amounts of copyrighted material, including words, images, and songs — usually without the creators’ knowledge or consent. In 2025, a US judge ruled this could fall under "fair use" if obtained legally; however, much of the data had been pirated, and Anthropic settled for a record $1.5 billion USD. Harming the Environment
AI now consumes roughly 2% of global electricity and billions of gallons of fresh water each year. Data centres need massive amounts of power to run AI models, and enormous amounts of water to cool them. As AI use accelerates, so too does its growing environmental footprint.
Over-reliance on AI for writing, navigation, decision-making, and problem-solving may weaken our own cognitive abilities over time. Widespread cheating and plagiarism using AI deeply impacts students’ actual learning and comprehension. If we stop practising critical thinking, creativity, and memory, we risk becoming dependent on systems we don't fully understand.
AI systems learn from the data they are given, and those datasets are not always fair or neutral. If training data reflects racial, gender, or socioeconomic biases, AI can perpetuate and even amplify discrimination in hiring, lending, policing, and healthcare. Common stereotypes are reinforced, and nuanced differences between groups are erased.
The information AI provides is not always accurate. AI models are based on predictions, not actual understanding. This can lead to completely confident but false statements.
Generative AI has also made it easier, faster, and cheaper for anyone to create mis- and dis-information, from text to deepfake videos. Much of this “AI slop” is meant as entertainment, but these have also been used by bad actors to scam people, to target individuals or groups, and to manipulate opinion on a massive scale.
Are the benefits of AI available to everyone? You need access to technology, a connection to the Internet, and the skills and knowledge to use AI tools effectively and safely. Even then, expensive paid models significantly outperform free versions. When some people have better tools than others, existing inequalities only deepen.
AI systems collect vast amounts of personal data, usually without clear consent. Your words, images, location, and browsing habits may be stored indefinitely, used to train future models, or shared across borders. Once you've entered it, you lose control of where it goes.
AI also enables mass data collection and facial recognition at unprecedented scale. Without strong safeguards, it can be used for invasive surveillance, tracking individuals' movements, purchases, and communications and eroding the right to privacy.
Booklist
Browse titles about artificial intelligence for the curious and the skeptical.
Resources
Explore this list of resources to help you better understand artificial intelligence.
Resources
Build practical skills and deepen your understanding of artificial intelligence with expert-led video courses.
Resources
Take free instructor-led online courses to build skills and explore topics like artificial intelligence, business, technology, and more.