Introduction
At Queen’s University Library, we recognize that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming research, teaching, and learning in powerful ways. Guided by our mission, vision, and values, we are committed to furthering and supporting research, teaching, and learning as a social good. AI can be harnessed in positive ways for tasks that include learning, problem solving, discovering and managing information, generating and analyzing data, producing text and images, and more. AI also presents challenges and fundamental changes to human-centric tasks that require us to understand and address its impact. AI can present increasing risks to assessing the quality of information, due to considerations like a lack of context or citation, misinformation, and bias in current AI offerings. We are also mindful of the risks of cognitive offloading, where an over-reliance on AI may erode human learning, critical thinking, and judgement. As AI continues to evolve, the library will seek to evolve, grounded in evidence-based approaches, and a commitment to transparency, accountability, and academic integrity.
Queen’s University Library also recognizes the importance of establishing a shared understanding about AI, including its capabilities as well as the need for responsible use, both within the library and across the university. As such, we seek to facilitate and contribute to communal and institutional knowledge that allows everyone to engage with AI in positive and impactful ways, as well as understanding its challenges and constraints. By developing a shared understanding, we can collectively continue to learn and expand our knowledge and expertise as AI continues to evolve.
The library acknowledges that AI is increasingly embedded in our work and within the tools and content that we use and provide to our library users. The addition of new or enhanced AI functionality is not always transparent to us or our library users. We will seek to iteratively and continually monitor, learn, and critically evaluate with a spirit of curiosity and inquiry, as we use it to augment our work and assess its appropriateness for informed and purposeful practice. Throughout this process we will learn along with the university community to understand how and when AI can effectively be deployed to meet the needs and support the success of Queen’s students, faculty, and researchers.
Our Commitment to the Responsible Use of AI
The library is committed to the responsible use of AI, and we will pursue goals that align with this commitment, including:
- Through education, support, and the development and facilitation of access to tools and resources, supporting Queen’s and the broader community in navigating opportunities and risks of AI use.
- Ensuring transparency and accountability about AI and responsible use in library operations and services.
- Taking a leading role, and collaborating with campus partners, to foster essential literacy about AI technologies, including guidance for responsible and properly acknowledged use, critical thinking, evaluation, and assessment.
- Contributing to broader academic dialogue about the presence and potential of AI in higher education and society.
- Respecting diverse perspectives concerning AI and being open to the benefits and cautious of the risks associated with AI.
- Promoting human-centered values, and,
- Proactively learning alongside our community.
Valuing Different Views
We acknowledge that there are differing views regarding the benefits and challenges that AI presents. We will proceed with informed and appropriate caution to be an open and trusted resource for AI at Queen's University.
Understanding AI in the Library Context
AI is the ability of a computer to do things normally associated with human cognition such as learning and problem solving. At Queen’s University Library, we are generally, but not solely, referring to generative AI, or a subset of artificial intelligence that produces new content including text, audio-visual materials, code, or 3D models based on large language models (LLMs) and user prompts.
As stewards of knowledge and facilitators of access to information, the library recognizes the transformative potential of AI and its growing impact on research, teaching, learning, and society. We are committed to learning about and engaging with AI in ways that are responsible, transparent, and aligned with the academic and research missions of Queen’s University. Our stewardship extends beyond the implementation of technology and is rooted in human expertise, ensuring that the use of AI augments, but does not replace, the knowledge and contextual understanding that libraries bring to the information landscape.
In this rapidly evolving field, generative AI tools are everywhere, and they include free tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Google Gemini, or subscription-based tools, including those embedded in library electronic resources. Our faculty, students, and staff are already using and consulting a variety of AI tools within their fields of expertise for research, teaching, and learning, including when developing and studying curricula. The library views AI and related technologies as tools for augmenting rather than replacing human capabilities, enabling us to go beyond what was achievable previously. Informed human oversight remains essential in maintaining academic integrity and fostering critical thinking.
Recognizing the Impact of AI
As a library committed to equity, sustainability, and collaboration, we recognize both the potential and the risks of AI. We acknowledge that AI can perpetuate bias, reinforce inequities, and negatively impact the environment, and we recognize the need for critical awareness and accountability in its development and use. These concerns are not abstract. AI is already shaping decisions about access to information, privacy, labour, education, scholarly communication, teaching and research – areas at the core of our mission. Guided by our commitment to responsible engagement and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, we strive to ensure inclusive and equitable access to knowledge and learning opportunities.
To uphold these principles, we will seek to set boundaries for how AI will be used in and by the library by:
- Considering AI tools and ensure that they do not violate user privacy or collect data in opaque or exploitative ways
- Holding an understanding that AI cannot replace human relationships at the core of library services such as reference, teaching, community building, or curation, while also thoughtfully leveraging the ways it can benefit our work in these areas
- Understanding that AI will not be used as a shortcut to inclusive practices of description, preservation, or decision-making, and instead used in thoughtful ways to expand, enhance, and encourage our work in this area
- Using AI purposefully, mindful of environmental impact.
As we explore the potential of AI in our library context, we do so with humility, curiosity, and care. We welcome collaboration with communities, researchers, and technologists to ensure that our practices serve the university community’s interests and contribute to a more just and sustainable future.