Our host, Hilary Knight speaks to Rob Cawston, Director of Digital and Service Transformation, National Library of Scotland on how the NLS is taking an ethical stance on the use of AI and how this work is tied to its mission and values.

External References:

• National Library of Scotland: https://www.nls.uk/
• National Library of Scotland AI Statement: https://data.nls.uk/projects/ai-statement/
• National Library of Scotland’s tools: https://data.nls.uk/tools/
• 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_SAG-AFTRA_strike
• Smithsonian’s AI Values Statement: https://datascience.si.edu/ai-values-statement
• Smithsonian’s co-authored the paper "Developing responsible AI practices at the Smithsonian Institution": https://doi.org/10.3897/rio.9.e113334

Bio:

Rob Cawston is the Director of Digital and Service Transformation at the National Library of Scotland and has previously managed digital programmes at the Scottish Government, National Museums Scotland, the Royal Institution, BAFTA and Chatham House. Rob is a graduate of the Oxford Cultural Leaders programme at the Said Business School (University of Oxford) and has served as an Advisory Board Member of Creative Lives supporting community and volunteer-led creative activity across Scotland.