As we move further and further into the digital age, society has seen and will continue to see various trends of human behaviours that we may not have seen or experienced before. In the video posted by equalman (2019), there are some examples of trends that have already began to surface in Internet interactions. There is an increase of people turning to ‘bots’ or Artificial Intelligence (AI) to seek socialization rather than people who are close to them both physically and emotionally for example a spouse. Another trend is how the age of people interacting with and on the Internet are gradually getting younger. One of the most considerably concerning trends indicated in the video is people relying on inauthentic sources for news and information as well as issues concerning trustworthiness and security. The final trend in the video that will be outlined is the trend of using social media to inform purchases. Of course, this can be beneficial as it brings in differing opinions from worldwide sources however it can also lack authenticity if people do not disclose if they have been compensated for a bias review of a product.

So the next area of discussion is how do these trends and behaviours tie into and impact information policies. Firstly, the behaviour of people becoming reliant on AI for socialization has some benefits but also has some negatives attached. Barber (2018) notes how AI can be very beneficial for people who have social anxiety and low self-confidence to help them develop skills to socialise. However, Barber (2018) also describes how certain AI apps rely on user input and form responses around user input therefore not really replicating authentic social interaction. Brandtzaeg and Følstad (2017) explore the reason for organisations adopting AI in organisations which is primarily for productivity through customers obtaining timely assistance. It is interesting to note how library and information services, especially in school settings, can adopt AI chat technologies to assist users with locating information and how this would look in policy development. Librarians must consider the user needs in policy documentation as well as predict common interactions to facilitate effective AI chat software. The next factor of age is greatly important for librarians to consider in policies. Ensuring users reach age appropriate information and literature is key when developing online collections and is a vital factor in policy making. The trend of deciding what is an authentic source is a crucial role of the librarian. The policies developed by librarians in regards to authentic sources could include a regularly updated spreadsheet accessible by all users to promote authentic news and information sources. Security and trustworthy internet sites are top priority in modern internet usage. The librarian is tasked with ensuring their library’s internet platform is secure and contains safe and trustworthy links, which would be explicitly outlined in policy. The link between the trend of purchasing items through social media can be applied to the library sphere mainly through subscription services. Librarians must have a clear description of where they are purchasing subscriptions and directly reference suppliers in their policy, regularly updating the policy when these elements change.

Barber, T. (2018, February 12). Do we want to live in a world where our ‘best friends’ are AI chatbots?. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/do-we-want-to-live-in-a-world-where-our-best-friends-are-ai-chatbots-91451

Brandtzaeg, P., & Følstad, A. (2017, November 22-24). Why people use chatbots [Conference Paper]. Internet Science: 4th International Conference, Thessaloniki, Greece.

equalman. (2019, January 8). Digital transformation video 2019 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6k_G_h41ZaQ