“Keep the human in the loop” is a simple maxim for using Gen AI. But in a workplace with multiple humans, agreeing on how to use the technology is anything but simple.
NMC’s library staff reached this conclusion after months of discussion about Gen AI’s impact on academic library work. The conversations were mostly theoretical, more focused on principle than practice, said Instruction Librarian Nicco Pandolfi. But the more they talked, the more they realized that team members had divergent opinions on some aspects of Gen AI. As the staff felt a push to start using the technology, the differences became uncomfortable.
“We’re a small team,” said Kerrey Woughter, Director of Library Services. “Relationships are very important. It became more clear that we needed to agree on what was acceptable to us and what was not.”
To come to a consensus, the team decided to focus on how Gen AI impacts their work rather than trying to agree on ideology. Pandolfi drafted a set of 15 scenarios for how Gen AI might be used by librarians. Most were specific to the library, such as adopting a virtual reference assistant. Others were more general, such as using Gen AI to “flesh out” year-end self-assessment reports and how to disclose AI use to internal and external audiences. Team members were asked to respond to each scenario, explaining whether or not the use of AI tools was acceptable in that context.
“The scenarios were critical,“ said Woughter. “They allowed us to focus on the things we do now. From the response to the scenarios, we pulled out themes that helped develop the guidelines.”
The resulting document, “NMC Library Community Agreement on Use of GenAI,” is a one-page text with three main categories: Purpose & Nature of Use, Guidelines for Responsible Use, and Framing Informed Student Use. The agreement states that librarians will not use Gen AI to draft personal communications, they will disclose the use of Gen AI, and they will protect privacy and authorship by limiting what is shared with GenAI tools.
Another important part of the agreement states a commitment “to honor our own professional expertise by avoiding uses that undermine or devalue that expertise.” This is key, Pandolfi said, because organizations that were early adopters of Gen AI have discovered that the technology has not replaced human labor, but has made it less meaningful.
“The human-in-the-loop part results in workers becoming shepherds of bots,” Pandolfi said. “You run the risk of humans becoming checkers, not do-ers.”
Another of the guidelines, an agreement not to use Gen AI tools “in ways that sacrifice quality for speed or volume of work,” was initially challenging for Woughter. As director, she felt pressure to use Gen AI for efficiency, perhaps more than other team members. However, she said she has realized that Gen AI output often lacks the character that makes for meaningful communication within the department, although she does use the tools for some tasks. She would like to see the college develop rubrics to help individual departments measure the value and cost of using Gen AI, she said.
Next up for the library is developing guidelines for working with students during information literacy instruction and individual research conferences. The library’s Community Agreement establishes a goal to “support students in developing critical AI literacy, empowering them in their roles as savvy navigators, critical audiences, and confident creators of information.”
The library can also help NMC staff navigate the new world of Gen AI. Woughter’s presentation at October Conference, “From Policy To Practice: Strategies For Establishing Team Norms For AI Use,” generated buzz among department leaders. She explained that the process used by the library team will work across the college, producing guidelines tailored to each department. The benefits of this work are substantial. Establishing consistent expectations and honoring diverse opinions will reduce potential conflict and anxiety.
“Folks who are apprehensive about AI would be grateful for a process that allows them to weigh in,” Woughter said. “It makes it less personal.”