The Problem with “Perfect” Answers

A useful blog post reporting on interesting research: Munoz, R. (2024, October 15). The Problem with “Perfect” Answers: GenAI and Academic Research Tools. https://er.educause.edu/articles/2024/10/the-problem-with-perfect-answers-genai-and-academic-research-tools
Librarian Roberta Muñoz talks about the problem when people get so used to search engines, AI etc. delivering the answers they expect, that people get frustrated and baffled when they are presented with information that isn't exactly tailored to their preferences. This is drawing on some research by Xu et al., namely:
Xu, R., Le, N., Park, R., Murray, L., Das, V., Kumar, D. & Goldberg, B. (2024). New contexts, old heuristics: How young people in India and the US trust online content in the age of generative AI. https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.02522 "We conducted in-person ethnography in India and the US to investigate how young people (18-24) trusted online content, just as generative AI (genAI) became mainstream. We found that when online, how participants determined what content to trust was shaped by emotional states, which we term "information modes." Our participants reflexively shifted between modes to maintain "emotional equilibrium," and eschewed engaging literacy skills in the more passive modes in which they spent the most time. We found participants imported trust heuristics from established online contexts into emerging ones (i.e., genAI). This led them to use ill-fitting trust heuristics, and exposed them to the risk of trusting false and misleading information. While many had reservations about AI, prioritizing efficiency, they used genAI and habitual heuristics to quickly achieve goals at the expense of accuracy. We conclude that literacy interventions designed to match users' distinct information modes will be most effective."

Also linked from Muñoz's blog post is a  news report on Xu et al.'s research
Rogers, A. (2024, April 25). The secret digital behaviors of Gen Z. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-most-trusted-news-source-online-comment-sections-google-2024-6
Unfortunately, although I was able to read this free a couple of days ago, it is now asking me for money, so I'm relying on my memory for what was in it. I think the author of the research paper is quoted as saying that initially they were investigating information literacy, but then they discarded that idea because what the Gen Zers were doing wasn't information literacy. That seems a bit narrow, since it seems to me that what Xu et al. have done is Information Behavior research, which could be used to engage with the participants to develop ideas of context-appropriate IL (which wouldn't involve them totally changing their IB, but being more aware of what they are doing, which could bring shifts in behaviour).
Photo by Sheila Webber: Winter in the Botanic Gardens, December 2024