Pay attention to the chatbot behind the curtain when AI ‘is no place like home’ : A framework and toolkit for integrating critical thinking and information literacy in educational and professional settings

Over the past three decades, the evolution of technology has dramatically reshaped the information landscape, making it easier to access and simultaneously easier to distort. The advent of artificial intelligence (AI), particularly generative tools like ChatGPT and CoPilot, has further complicated the pursuit of information literacy, posing significant challenges for educators, librarians and students alike. This paper explores the implications of integrating generative AI (GenAI) tools into educational and professional settings, emphasising the necessity of critical thinking and the development of robust information literacy skills to discern the credibility and authority of AI-generated content. By examining the Association of College and Research Libraries’ (ACRL) ‘Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education’, this paper provides strategies to identify risk areas related to AI integration as well as produce use cases for large language model (LLM) GenAI tools, including a flowchart for determining when to make use of GenAI, a toolkit for positive/effective use cases, and a rubric for assessing information literacy and critical thinking. While AI tools can offer valuable educational opportunities, their propensity to generate misleading or inaccurate information necessitates a careful and informed approach to their use. This paper concludes with a call for ongoing vigilance in maintaining academic integrity and underscores the importance of continuously questioning the reliability of AI outputs in educational contexts.