[Web4lib] AI answering, IBM Watson, whatever...

[Robert Balliot]

Well said, Marc.

Supporting the "publishing model based on print scarcity" is also the focus
of free public library systems. Print collections represented a wealth of
knowledge beyond the means of most people.  That is no longer true.
Maintaining public library relevance means understanding and adapting to new
models of access to publications.

R. Balliot
http://oceanstatelibrarian.com/contact.htm



On Thu, Feb 10, 2011 at 7:36 AM, Marc Davis <marc.davis at drake.edu> wrote:

> .... to support the rituals and methodologies of of a 18th century
> institution and a publishing model based on print scarcity. Obscurity and
> complexity were the friend of the Librarian, his defense against the world,
> his insurance of relevancy.



>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Marc Davis | Systems Coordinator | Cowles Library | Drake University
> Mailing: 2507 University Avenue | Des Moines, IA 50311 USA | 515-271-1934
> Shipping: 2725 University Avenue | Des Moines, IA 50311 USA
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Ernest Perez" <ernest.r.perez at gmail.com>
> To: web4lib at webjunction.org
>  Sent: Wednesday, February 9, 2011 7:28:09 PM
> Subject: Re: [Web4lib] AI answering, IBM Watson, whatever...
>
>  Howdy, Webbers,
>
> I'd made my original post on the tail end of the IBM Watson/AI-answering
> topic in hopes of hearing more reactions about, "Exactly what is it that we
> want a mythical Answer Wizard to do, anyway?"
>
> I offered the information about my company's Web service, and their
> approach
> from the view of linguistic analyzing, summarizing, condensing, and
> organizing pertinent information relevant to a user query; of giving the
> user the ability to stop when enough and appropriate information had been
> delivered.
>
> I have heard from one nearby academic library staff, where I asked the
> Reference Director to examine our application. He responded that he and 5
> of
> the senior Reference staff tried out "iResearch Reporter," and felt they
> had
> to give me negative feedback.
>
> Their comments:
>
>   - Felt that this made it "too easy" for the user.
>   - That it would not be effective in teaching them evaluation of
>   resources, in the proper methods of research, etc.
>   - That it was questionable, maybe a bit like "buying a college degree."
>   - That it didn't seem like a proper approach.
>   - That because of this, they ethically couldn't give a positive reaction
>   to this kind of text-mining application.
>
> Whoa! Am I missing something here? I first associated with development of
> our product after my long library career of helping people and
> organizations
> find information, answer questions, solve problems, etc. Or as Mike Keonig
> has phrased it, "Putting something away and being able to find it again."
>
> In the past, I'd published two separate articles in Online Magazine about
> this kind of software technology, describing this linguistic analysis
> approach, and outlining the benefits as I saw them.
>
> Coming from that view, I was surprised by the reactions of these six
> academic librarians. I thought the purpose of what we've all been doing was
> helping people effectively get the information we need.
>
>
> Surprise...! Perhaps we may all want to raise ethical objections to such
> questionable smoke & mirrors as IBM STAIRS (& Watson), Dialog, BRS, Google,
> Bing, Information Access, Ebsco, etc.      8-)
>
> Can't make things too darned easy, after all. Eh?
>
> Cheers,
>  --ernest
>  ---------------------------
> Ernest Perez, Ph.D.
> Power Text Solutions, Inc.
> http://www.irr-usa.com
> ernest at irr-usa.com
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