Är inte konst till för att säga någonting om människan? : En kvalitativ intervjustudie om folkbibliotekariers syn på kvalitet, urval och Artificiell Intelligens.

Sammanfattning

Artificial intelligence has gone from simply being a theoretical thought to rapidly affecting different areas of our lives. AI has in different ways been discussed in the library field, but mostly in regards to academic writing or different ways AI-technology can be used in library work. What has not been studied in depth is the views and opinions that librarians have on AI-litterature. This study aims to examine how librarians view and take into consideration literary quality when it comes to literary selection in the library. The study also aims to research how the librarians view AI-generated literature and how AI might come to change the way literature is selected. To do this interviews with eight different librarians from eight libraries around Sweden has been done. During these interviews the librarians were asked questions regarding quality, AI and literary selection as well as discussing three text excerpts that were sent to the interviewees beforehand. This has then been analyzed through Bourdieu's definitions of field and capital, as well as Garvins definitions of quality and Beardsleys categories of aesthetic value. The study showed that the librarians had similar ways of selecting literature for the library and that they all prioritized what the library's users wanted to read instead of only having what is considered to be high quality literature. The study also showed that literary quality is hard to define. Regarding the level of knowledge the librarians had of AI it differed among them as some had more knowledge than others, as was the view of literature that’s generated with the help of an AI. Based upon our findings AI has yet to reach a level of craftsmanship that would make it possible to produce high-quality literature. On the other hand economical reasons might push established and well-respected publishers to replace human labour with AI.