The “Artificial Intelligence and Libraries: Transforming Information Access and Discovery” symposium was hosted by the University of Chile Directorate of Information Services and Libraries and the Library of the National Congress of Chile in collaboration with the IFLA IT Section and AI SIG, on April 11-12, 2024.

With over 500 online registrations and approximately 300 in-person attendees from at least 16 countries, the meeting was a success. You can find the program and the presentation slides on the dedicated website.

The event has been opened by Sra. Carolina Gainza, Undersecretary of Science, Technology, Knowledge, and  Innovation in Chile. Among other presentations we can underline the keynote address on the “Latin American Artificial Intelligence Index” by Álvaro Soto, Director of the National Center for Artificial Intelligence (CENIA) in Chile, the panel on Prompt Engineering, the lightning talks session, the workshops led by Andrew Cox and Santiago Villegas-Ceballos.

An evening reception hosted by EBSCO and Library of National Congress of Chile closed the first day; and guided tours of libraries were proposed to attendees on second afternoon.

The conversations allowed extended sharing of experience between seasoned professionals and library school students. Attendees gave very positive feedback on the diversity of topics and quality of the presentations. Participants intended to continue regional exchanges and raised the idea of creating an online platform for resource sharing. The global south may be seen as an AI leader in libraries if the communication and the collaboration are effective.

Future AI Symposium

Several forthcoming AI in libraries events have been evoked. There will be one organized in 2025 in South Africa under Nonhlanhla Ngcobo’s lead (Director of Library Services at University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban).

Recordings

Friday, 12 April sessions

Press releases

Congreso internacional en la U. de Chile abordó cómo la inteligencia artificial está transformando las  bibliotecas — https://bit.ly/3Jpwz6D

Reviva la jornada de clausura del IV Simposio sobre Inteligencia Artificial y Bibliotecas — https://bit.ly/4aKNz3h

Andrew Cox, académico británico: “La IA permitirá un acceso mucho más profundo y amplio al  conocimiento” — https://bit.ly/49I96rZ

En Santiago comenzó el IV Simposio sobre Inteligencia Artificial y Bibliotecas — https://bit.ly/445hIrs

Santiago será sede del IV Simposio sobre Inteligencia Artificial y Bibliotecas — https://bit.ly/3vXFhWC

Acknowledgements

Appreciation extended to organizers, hosting library directors (Rodrigo Donoso Vegas, Diego Matte Palacios), and staff for their support and contributions to the success of the symposium.