The Ginger (Law) Librarian

If you're into algorithms, you should absolutely subscribe to the MIT Technology Review newsletter called The Algorithm . Earlier this week, the folks at The Algorithm asked "what is AI, exactly?" The answer is reproduced below. The question may seem basic, but the answer is kind of complicated. In the broadest sense, AI refers to machines that can learn, reason, and act for themselves. They can make their own decisions when faced with new situations, in the same way that humans and animals can. As it currently stands, the vast majority of the AI advancements and applications you hear about refer to a category of algorithms known as machine learning. These algorithms use statistics to find patterns in massive amounts of data. They then use those patterns to make predictions on things like what shows you might like on Netflix, what you’re saying when you speak to Alexa, or whether you have cancer based on your MRI. Machine learning, and its subset deep learning

As a member of the AALL State of the Profession Survey Advisory Group , I am excited that the survey has been released! The Advisory Group is comprised of librarians from all types of law libraries with the purpose of designing a survey to assess the current state of the profession. The State of the Profession Survey will document the current landscape of law libraries, specific to each library type, and will provide benchmarking in the following areas: Technology, collections and library resources, constituent services, institutional outcomes, research competencies, training, staffing, and leadership. The purpose of the State of the Profession Survey is to provide members and their organizations with the information and insights they need to effectively assess, advocate, and strategically prepare for the future. We started working on the survey in 2017 with this purpose in mind. In the survey, you will find questions pertaining to the various enumerated areas. While the sur