The Rock Island Watts-Midtown Branch Library, 2715 30th St., will host “AI Apocalypse: A Survival Guide for Navigating Disinformation” at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 3. It will be presented by librarian Atticus Garrison of Black Hawk College.
The presentation is free. Mr. Garrison will look to demystify generative AI by explaining what it is, how it works and how to identify it. Topics include mechanics of AI, creation and impact of AI deep fakes, and the role of AI in spreading disinformation on social media and in the news.
The session aims to equip attendees with critical thinking and media literacy skills to navigate the digital landscape with confidence.
Mr. Garrison is a reference and instruction librarian at Black Hawk College. He specializes in teaching source evaluation, research skills, and literacies, including information, media, and digital. He is known for his talks on AI. The presentations he has given include to the Information Literacy Summit, and the NILRC annual conference. He served as the keynote speaker for Highland Community College’s Opening Days.
“Whether it’s deepfake technology, or the number of Large Language Model Chatbots like ChatGPT, it can be hard to keep up with what’s new in AI. On top of that, more and more of the content and users of social media are being run and created by A1. This can make it harder to tell what is real and what is a fabrication,” Mr. Garrison said.
