For librarians, educators, teachers.

Understanding AI in Plain English

What is AI?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) refers to computer programs that can perform tasks that usually require human thinking — like writing, answering questions, or sorting information. A popular example is ChatGPT, which can generate helpful text when you ask it a question.

Think of AI like a very fast, well-read assistant who’s been trained on a massive collection of books, websites, and articles. It doesn’t “know” things like a person does — it predicts what words should come next based on patterns it has seen.

What AI is not:

Why Should Librarians Care?

It’s a tool, not a replacement

AI doesn’t take your job — it can help you do parts of your job faster: drafting emails, brainstorming program ideas, or answering common questions. You stay in charge. AI is just the helper.

It can save you time

Used wisely, AI can help: