Funding from AHRC helps propel artificial intelligence research in the UK with iREAL (Inclusive Requirements Elicitation for AI in Libraries) project.

Samantha Callaghan, KDL co-leads iREAL with Paul Gooding and Rosie Spooner, University of Glasgow, Kirsten Thorpe and Lauren Booker, University of Technology Sydney in partnership with Digital Preservation Coalition.

UK and Australian libraries often hold collections from many Indigenous communities, each with its own perspective on data govenance. Institutions, researchers, Artificial Intelligence systems developers and library professionals must therefore understand their responsibilities when incorporating data sourced from Indigenous communities into library AI systems. To date, there have been hugely valuable interventions by Indigenous researchers into both AI design, and library practices, but these are yet to be applied together to AI in the library sector.

iREAl will develop a model for responsible Artificial Intelligence systems development in libraries seeking to include knowledge from Indigenous communities, specifically Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Australia.

iREAL is a six-month scoping project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, via the Bridging Responsible AI Divides (BRAID) programme.