Investigating Factors Affecting Artificial Intelligence (AI) Adoption by Libraries at Top-Rated Universities Worldwide

Abstract

This chapter aims at understanding better the perceptions of academic libraries' top managers with regards to artificial intelligence (AI) and adoption decisions. Building on previous research, this study reports on the relationship between perceived familiarity with AI and the decision-makers' positive adoption attitude regarding AI in libraries. Results indicate that the main issues faced by senior-librarians when considering an AI implementation are the lack of maturity of the commercial solutions offered, security and privacy concerns, the library's core values, its funding capacity, and the need for technical expertise. The most popular AI applications currently implemented are natural language processing and virtual reference librarians (chatbots) while the least popular are robot guides and facial recognition.