“ChatGPT, How Do People Feel About You?”: Emotions, Artificial Intelligence, and Information Behavior

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI), which is defined for this literature review as any computer entity with human-like language that provides information services, will impact both the user experience and workflow within libraries. The primary research questions for this literature review seek to determine whether AI invokes positive or negative emotions in amateur information seekers and how these emotions might influence AI’s ability to serve as a technology information intermediary in libraries. To discern what emotions might arise for this population around AI in library contexts, an understanding of how information seekers feel about AI in general is first determined. Then, emotions around AI are examined in various information contexts. Consideration is then given to how perceptions of AI may differ based on AI’s ability to display social emotional reciprocity. The findings suggest that the public currently has complex feelings about AI as an information intermediary that could hinder its effectiveness in libraries and other information spaces. This literature review was limited by its population focus as it did not cover the views of professionals or academics. Future studies should focus on whether the public would be interested in or open to the use of AI in certain library contexts.