Webinar: The Public Voice on Generative AI: Perceptions of Its Impact on GLAM Institutions

Description

Generative AI (GenAI) has rapidly gained popularity in recent years, making its way into various service areas, including galleries, libraries, archives, and museums (GLAM). Alongside its adoption, public conversations on social media reflect both excitement about its possibilities and concern about its risks. This webinar will present our study, which explores how the public perceives the impact of GenAI on GLAM institutions through an analysis of discussions on X (formerly Twitter) and Reddit from November 2022 to August 2025. Using topic modeling and sentiment analysis, we identify major themes, track how discussions have evolved over time, and uncover relationships among topics, sentiments, and social connections. Our findings highlight both the opportunities and challenges of GenAI in GLAM contexts, and underscore the importance of preparing future professionals through education and training in Schools of Library and Information Science (SLIS). We aim to inspire further research, critical dialogue, and intentional strategies for integrating GenAI in cultural and information institutions.