NISO's Open Discovery Initiative Standing Committee Releases New Report Following Survey

“Generative Artificial Intelligence and the NISO Open Discovery Initiative,” a report on the AI in web-scale library discovery services survey undertaken in 2024 by the NISO Open Discovery Initiative (ODI) Standing Committee, is now available.

The NISO Open Discovery Initiative (ODI) most recently updated its Recommended Practice, “Promoting Transparency in Discovery,” in 2020, several years before large-scale Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools emerged into the public’s view in late 2023. Much as web-scale discovery changed the library discovery environment around 2010, generative AI has the potential to be similarly revolutionary, changing the way library users conduct research and content providers share their full text and indexing. 

To better understand the specific areas of interest and concern among participants in the discovery ecosystem, the Open Discovery Initiative conducted a survey of constituents in September–October 2024, following several months of planning. The findings from that survey are included in the report, along with specific areas of work that ODI will be taking on in the months to come. 

“The results of the survey show just how diverse attitudes towards AI are,” says Rachel Kessler, Product Manager at Clarivate and co-chair of the ODI Standing Committee. “As the technology evolves and knowledge grows, opinions will continue to shift. It is critical to foster a spirit of transparency and cooperation within the discovery community to maintain an open dialogue”

“The survey results illustrate the complexity of adapting generative AI when it comes to our library discovery tools,” added Ken Varnum, Senior Program Manager and Discovery Strategist at the University of Michigan. “I look forward to working with ODI to find ways to bring some transparency to these new technologies.”

The committee invites community feedback on their findings and hopes to use the survey results to develop guides aiding the community in navigating this ever-evolving technology. 

View the full report and survey results.