With AI increasingly being used to replace literature reviews and database scans, Leo S Lo (University of Virginia) argues that students will need critical thinking skills to be able to determine fact from AI-hallucinated fiction. Lo describes the four-step process he has developed to guide students in proper AI use in their research. This begins with asking AI about the “how” and “why” of a research question. Lo writes that students should then document prompts and deletions that occur while asking AI to assemble information and fact check the output. The final step, Lo says, is to humanize output using a student’s own knowledge and experiences. Lo notes how librarians are uniquely positioned to help hone these research skills, and concludes that higher ed must help students to question and dig into information meaningfully moving forward.
