Iowa schools are utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) as a means to determine which books to exclude from their libraries, in order to comply with state legislation. The new law, which took effect in July, mandates that schools must possess “age appropriate” books that do not contain any “descriptions or visual depictions of a sex act.” However, schools have reported a lack of guidance from the state, leaving administrators uncertain about the application of the law.
To address this issue, the Mason City Community School District in Iowa has turned to ChatGPT, an AI-powered chatbot, to aid in the decision-making process of book removal. With the assistance of ChatGPT, the district has already removed 19 books from its libraries, including titles such as Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” and Toni Morrison’s “Beloved.” Staffers compiled a list of commonly challenged books and then posed the question to ChatGPT: “Does [book] contain a description or depiction of a sex act?” If the AI tool responded affirmatively, the book was taken out.
Although ChatGPT produced mixed results in subsequent tests conducted by Popular Science, the district maintains that it was the best solution given its limited time and resources. The district has also emphasized that the responsibility of determining “age-appropriate” material will be left to human educators.
Other districts in Iowa have removed a larger number of books, possibly due to assumptions regarding the intent of the legislature. Bridgette Exman, the assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction for the Mason City School District, explains that books challenged for reasons outside of sexual content, such as those involving the LGBTQ+ community or race issues, are not regulated by the new law and therefore remain in the libraries.
In conclusion, the implementation of AI in the book removal process is a response to Iowa’s state legislation requiring the provision of “age-appropriate” books without explicit sexual content. While the accuracy of ChatGPT is debatable, the Mason City Community School District views it as a necessary step to comply with the law efficiently. However, decisions regarding the appropriateness of books based on other factors are left to human educators.
Sources:
– Conner Hendricks, “Iowa schools use artificial intelligence to determine which books to ban,” KCRG
– Paul Brennan, “Iowa turned to ChatGPT to help ban books for ‘descriptions or visual depictions of a sex act’,” Little Village
– Alexander Schmidt, “AI used to determine sex scenes in banned literature,” Mason City Globe Gazette
– Andrew Paul, “Schools are turning to AI to decide which books they should ban,” Popular Science
– Angela Watercutter, “AI Is Deciding Which Traditionally Banned Books Should be Allowed in Schools,” Wired
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