UW Libraries staff bring expertise to AI research ethics panel

Two UW–Madison Libraries staff recognized for their expertise in the fields of data and artificial intelligence were featured in The Daily Cardinal’s coverage of a panel on the ethics of generative AI use in the research process.

Jennifer Patiño, Libraries’ digital scholarship coordinator, and Anna Haensch, Digital Scholarship Hub associate director and associate professor, joined other campus experts at the January 30 panel in making recommendations for how researchers can engage with AI responsibly and cautiously. 

Haensch, who served as an AI policy fellow in Senator Elizabeth Warren’s office, addressed some of the ways AI can complicate research, including the tools’ ability to “hallucinate” information.

Patiño, meanwhile, urged researchers to get a comprehensive understanding of AI tools, down to the fine print.

“Understand how [AI tools] work, thinking about their terms of use, licensing that might be involved and their actual functions,” she said.

On the subject of journals and publications, Patiño underscored the importance of recognizing the different sets of standards research publications set for AI use. 

“It’s really important to take a look at what both the publisher and the journal are saying, that their policies might clarify each other,” she said.

Patiño also highlighted Research Data Services, a free on-campus resource designed to help researchers manage and share their data.

Read the full The Daily Cardinal article.