Meaningful and Inclusive Access to Information

With the rise of Google and Wikidata as authoritative sources of information for many, with the use of generative Artificial Intelligence, such as Chat GPT, for the creation of new content, and with linked open data as the new, global means of communication for the Semantic Web, the structuring and dissemination of data has become deprofessionalized. In such a shifting landscape, what is the role of new technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), in addressing key challenges to the creation of standardized metadata and its dissemination? The launch of the Brisbane Declaration at the close of IFLA’s Information Futures Summit stresses “what principles should apply when taking decisions about the future, highlighting changing knowledge practices, the impacts of new technology, [and] the importance of trust, skills, and equity.” Standardized metadata has been the lingua franca of information exchange in the library community since at least the creation of the Paris Principles. The popularization of metadata creation, although not challenging the intent of the Principles themselves, forces us to reconsider their realization. And new technologies, such as AI and linked open data, give us new opportunities to explore meaningful and inclusive access to information.