AI Anxiety

Juggernauts & Disruptors

Activities in AI are changing rapidly with major new developments in 2023 being announced almost weekly. Behemoths in the AI space (OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, Meta) are jockeying for position. Startups and open source communities are also building AI-enabled applications. Adding to the overload are dozens of research papers published daily in the artificial intelligence subject heading in the arXiv preprint service. The rate of change is dizzying. The speed of AI developments reminds me of the mid-1990s when the Internet/Web emerged as the dominant platform for transmitting information.

The Internet was a steam engine, changing how we communicate, work, and socialize. AI promises a similar upheaval but at a breakneck speed. The tech sector today is more established and heavily funded. In 2023, there are simply many more skilled professionals working on AI than there were working on Internet initiatives in 1995. My own career as a librarian, starting in the early 1990s, has been tied to the growth of the Internet and digital initiatives in academic libraries.

If I were a young professional now (say, under the age of 40), I would be tremendously concerned about disruptions in my career.

If I were a college student, I would be freaking out.

Yet, there are tremendous opportunities for those who understand the fundamentals of AI and can envision the possibilities for implementing AI-based techniques in specific industries and fields of work.

My advice is to find a focus. Pay attention to the developments in your area(s) of interest. The key lies in understanding and adapting. If you’re starting out in your career or even midway (or in the latter half, like myself), now is the time to understand the possibilities of AI. Recognize the potential and imagine how AI can be used in your specific field.

AI is here to stay. Stay informed, stay adaptive, stay curious.