Considering AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) has quickly made its way into library resources, services, and work. These four recent publications offer important criticisms, background information, and critical strategies for librarians to help distinguish between the hype and realities of this growing technology.

New Horizons in Artificial Intelligence in Libraries
Edited by Edmund Balnaves, Leda Bultrini, Andrew Cox, and Raymond Uzwyshyn
Born out of recent International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions conferences, this volume examines current and potential directions, implications, and projects for AI in library services. For example, uses of natural language processing for topic modeling and bibliographic projects show promise, but some emphasize that the technology is not yet fully viable. The text argues for transparency and maintenance of professional ethics amid these new advances. In particular, the examination of open source AI shows libraries how they can understand and evaluate new technologies rather than rely on the promises of vendors and technology companies.

De Gruyter Brill, 2024. 393 p. $98.99. 978-3-1113-3571-1. (Also available as an ebook.)

Generative AI and Libraries: Claiming Our Place in the Center of a Shared Future
By Michael Hanegan and Chris Rosser
This title from the American Library Association’s Core division argues that libraries should claim a central role in the creation, adoption, and evaluation of generative AI technologies. The authors note the unique opportunity libraries have to lead the integration of AI in their communities ethically and responsibly. The discussions of metaliteracy and the STACKS (strategy, tactics, assembly, curation, knowledge, and solutions) framework—an approach for learning and problem solving with generative AI—make this book worthwhile for library workers looking to understand if there is value to be gained from AI and whether this value outweighs its other impacts.

ALA Editions, 2025. 160 p. $54.99. PBK. 979-8-89255-310-0.

The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech’s Hype and Create the Future We Want
By Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna
If you read just one book from this list, it should be this one. In approachable and engaging prose, Bender and Hanna dispel notions of AI solving all problems as human-like “thinking machines.” The chapters explore the outsized promises of AI, its impact on labor, and its quotidian use, touching on topics commonly discussed in libraries, such as citational practice, fair use, and authority. Chapters four and five, which study AI usage in social services and creative and academic fields, will especially interest library workers. The book ends with concrete strategies and ways to create better, socially situated technology, including a call to support libraries.

HarperCollins, 2025. 288 p. $25.60. 978-0-0634-1856-1. (Also available as an ebook.)

Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI
By Karen Hao
In this investigation, Hao draws on her years of reporting on OpenAI and its founder, Sam Altman, to examine how the purported mission of the company stacks up against reality. The book features voices of gig workers, content moderators in Kenya, and communities impacted by the environmental cost of generative artificial intelligence—and highlights how, despite its stated goal of innovation for innovation’s sake, OpenAI’s race to beat competitors often compromises its quality. Beyond being an interesting account, Empire of AI can help readers understand the context, goals, and impacts of the technology’s growing dominance.

Penguin Press, 2025. 496 p. $32. 978-0-5936-5750-8. (Also available as an ebook.)