Who to follow for staying current with AI

Who to follow for staying current with AI

by | Dec 26, 2025

Cast a wide net

In order to stay current with generative AI (or any technology), I’ve always found it important to cast a wide net. Don’t only follow people similar to yourself—such as those from your same profession, political viewpoints, or demographics. Instead, look worldwide. Seek out many different professions, and draw from a mix of sources: newsletters, social media, LinkedIn, YouTube channels, and podcasts.

Here are my top recommendations for people and groups to follow to stay current with generative AI—organized by topic. This isn’t exhaustive, but it’s a strong starting point.

 

Higher eduction

Libraries

Understanding the research

Understanding AI in business

Copyright

AI & environment

AI & accessibility

Generative art, architecture, video, music

Other topics

These are the sources I’ve found most balanced and informative over the past year. Pick and choose according to your interests. This list will change over time, and I’ll probably share an updated list next year. Feel free to reach out if you’d like to recommend additional sources!

Follow me (nic221) on Bluesky or Mastodon, where I post daily about generative AI. And sign up for my free email newsletter: Generative AI News. I send it about once a month.

Nano Banana comics for Caulfield’s “Three moves, seven tips”

Nano Banana comics for Caulfield’s “Three moves, seven tips”

by | Nov 22, 2025

I’ve found Mike Caulfield’s recent online workshops about how to use AI to fact-check (or get context about claims) very useful!

If you’re not familiar with him, he’s the creator of the SIFT method for information literacy: Stop, Investigate the source, Find better coverage, Trace claims to the original context.

Lately he’s been working on methods for using AI to get context around claims — ideas we as librarians can use when teaching information literacy. You can read his latest post here: SIFT for AI: Introduction and Pedagogy.

He uses Google’s AI Mode (not AI overviews, which don’t work well). AI Mode is easy and quick to access and you don’t have to sign in to Google. (Learn more about AI Mode vs AI Overviews).

 

Get it in, track it down, follow up

This is his method in a nutshell:

Get it in

  • Tip #1: Just select the whole claim or upload the whole image
  • Tip #2: Use “AI mode inception” to drill into new areas

Track it down

  • Tip #3: Click the link nearest the claim you want to verify
  • Tip #4: To explore/source individual points feed them back into AI Mode

Follow up

  • Tip #5: Use an evidence-focused prompt for better accuracy
  • Tip #6: Ask it to lean into the sources you value
  • Tip #7: Keep a follow-ups file

You can watch him demonstrate this in videos on his YouTube playlist.

Nano Banana Pro for creating infographics and comics

Now this post is not about how to use his method… instead it’s for showing my fun experiments with using Nano Banana Pro to illustrate his ideas.

Since Google just released Nano Banana Pro recently, I’ve been experimenting with using it to create infographics and comic panels. It works well! I use it in the paid version of Gemini.

So I thought I’d use the “three moves, seven tips” idea to experiment with. Here are some of my results.

Feel free to copy and use these for any purpose.

Prompt: Make an infographic that shows these tips. Do it in the style of a colorful modern mind map.

Click on the image for full size.

Prompt: Now do it in the style of a 1950s comic.
Click on the image for full size.

Prompt: Now do it in the style of the Simpsons.
Click on the image for full size.

Prompt: Now do it in the style of a modern comic with three students using mobile phones.
Click on the image for full size.

I liked the modern comic best, so it’s the featured image at the top of this post.

 

Learn more about Nano Banana Pro

Here are a couple of videos that inspired me (from two of my favorite channels). They show what Nano Banana Pro can do.

(The days of recognizing AI-generated images by mangled text are over. I’ll need to update this tutorial soon).

AI Literacy for Library Workers: self-study course

AI Literacy for Library Workers: self-study course

by | Nov 20, 2025

There is widespread agreement that librarians and educators need to have AI literacy. Participating in this course will give you a very strong foundation.

What you’ll learn

  • Describe the technologies behind generative AI in a simple way for a general audience.
  • Identify and effectively use multimodal features, such as voice assistants and computer vision.
  • Select the best model for your task and then craft effective prompts for those models.
  • Understand and explain ethical issues related to generative AI, such as bias, deepfakes, and copyright.
  • Develop a list of reliable sources to follow for staying current with generative AI and its applications for education.
  • Get inspired with ways to teach generative AI to others.

Each unit includes:

  • Several short video lectures
  • Several hands-on activities
  • Recommended readings

By the end of this course, you’ll have enough background to begin to teach others in your community. And you’ll have ideas for how to stay current with new developments. With this knowledge you can begin to work with your peers to influence the future directions of generative AI technologies, in a way that aligns with the values of librarianship and education, such as equity, privacy, and access to information for all.

 

Are there any course requirements or prerequisites?

  • No technical understanding of generative AI is needed.
  • You will need to create free accounts on a few AI systems such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Claude, or Perplexity.

Who this course is for:

  • Library workers at all levels from any type of library.
  • Anyone else who is interested in AI literacy.

What are the advantages of this self-study version?

  • No deadlines.
  • The course will receive updates once a year – you’ll have perpetual access.
  • Go at your own pace, come back and review anytime.
  • You’ll get a certificate of completion when you finish the course.

Price

 

One of the best courses I’ve ever taken. Highly recommended.

Brock Edmunds

Assistant Head, Pardee Library, Boston University Libraries

I highly recommend this excellent course. The videos are informative, exciting and short, and I really enjoyed the hands-on activities, it was so much fun that I could try out all these new tools! I liked best the attitude that we were supposed to understand how easy it is to use AI to build a chatbot, generate music or create a podcast from a text. 

Angelika Gulyas

Senior Collection Management Librarian, Central European University, Vienna

This course really gave me the opportunity to try out so many different AI tools and have that hands on experience I really needed. Plus get a better understanding of generative AI in general. Highly recommend the course!

Laura Hogan

Reference & Instruction Librarian, Bristol Community College, Fall River, MA

Nicole embodies the two most important characteristics of a great instructor: deep knowledge of her subject; and attentiveness to her students.

Kenning Arlitsch

Library Director, Central European University

This is a fabulous class. It is time-consuming so make sure you have dedicated time to do the exercises but you will learn so much. I am new to the topic so it was a little like learning a foreign language but it was fun too.

Darlene Brafley

Director Library and Museum Services, City of Arcadia, CA

AI Literacy for Librarians and Educators

Start and finish anytime.

Offered via Udemy (with certificate of completion)

Sign up now
New webinar: AI’s Environmental Impact

New webinar: AI’s Environmental Impact

by | Sep 28, 2025

90-minute workshop

Repeat session on Dec. 5, 2025, 2 – 3:30 pm Eastern time
(previous session was on October 17)

You’ll get a recording if you are unable to watch it live.

Sign up now at Library 2.0

As teachers and librarians, you’re on the front lines of introducing AI to students. But with headlines warning about AI’s massive energy demands, how do you balance the need for AI literacy with decisions about acting sustainably?

This webinar cuts through the confusion to help you make informed choices about sustainability in your classrooms, libraries, and communities.

We’ll examine independent estimates of AI’s energy and water use and put them in context in ways that are easy to understand.

We’ll include an introduction to how data centers work and what they are used for. We’ll clarify what we know and what’s still uncertain about AI’s carbon footprint (both in the present and in future projections).

We’ll compare individual AI use to other digital activities, and we’ll also look at global use of data centers with statistics from the International Energy Agency.

Did you know that AI technologies are also being used to mitigate climate change? We’ll look at some of the many innovations underway related to greener data centers, hardware, and chips. And we’ll look at how AI is being used in projects that map deforestation, improve recycling, clean up the ocean, innovate new materials for greener buildings, and more.

You’ll come away with some practical tips for answering questions from students, and some simple advocacy steps to use in your communities.

 

Learning agenda

  • Review statistics about energy use of AI in a clearer context than the usual “factoids” you see in many headlines.
  • Understand some basic facts about data centers and their use for AI and other technologies.
  • Look at the history of news reporting about the energy use of other new technologies (like online book ordering in 1999 and streaming media in 2020).
  • Compare the carbon footprint of individual uses of AI with uses of other technologies and then zoom out to global use and what it could mean for climate change.
  • Examine the history of “Jevons paradox” and why it’s often quoted in relation to the growth of AI.
  • See examples of how AI itself is currently being used to mitigate climate change.
  • Get some practical tips for answering questions about AI and sustainability, and what we can advocate for collectively related to sustainable AI.

$99/person – includes live attendance and anytime access to the recording and the presentation slides and receiving a participation certificate.

To arrange group discounts, to submit a purchase order, or for any registration questions, email admin@library20.com.

AI’s Environmental Impact

The environmental story of AI is more nuanced than most headlines suggest. Come away with ideas for individual and collective action.

Sign up now
New webinar: NotebookLM: A Powerful Tool for Learning

New webinar: NotebookLM: A Powerful Tool for Learning

by | Aug 12, 2025

90-minute workshop

September 12, 2pm – 3:30 pm US – Eastern Time
You’ll get a recording if you are unable to watch it live.

Sign up now at Library 2.0

In this introduction to Google’s NotebookLM, we’ll explore what makes it different from ChatGPT‑style chatbots, how it integrates information from your uploaded sources, and why these capabilities can be useful for students and professionals at any stage of life.

With a guided tour of the interface, you’ll see how to bring PDFs, web pages, YouTube videos, Google Docs, your own notes, and more into a notebook, where you can then ask questions and build study guides, FAQs, mind maps, audio and video overviews.

You’ll come to understand how this tool is grounded only in the sources you give it, instead of its training data or various sources from the web. ​​If NotebookLM is unable to answer a question, that’s usually because the information is not in the sources you gave it.

Through demonstrated examples you’ll discover ways people are using NotebookLM to help with their own learning. We’ll also clarify how copyright and user privacy apply when incorporating licensed materials. And we’ll outline NotebookLM’s current limitations and share strategies for encouraging critical thinking.

We’ll close by covering where to track future updates and, in a live chat brainstorm, help generate fresh ideas for educational use.

Expect to leave with practical tips—and plenty of inspiration—to start experimenting back at your library.

Learning agenda:

  • Understand what NotebookLM is and why some people call it a “thinking partner.”
  • Get familiar with the interface and the easy-to-use built-in tools.
  • Become inspired with ideas for educational use cases by looking at examples.
  • Understand how copyright and privacy work in this setting.
  • See examples of accessibility features and multilingual support.
  • Understand limitations along with best practices for preserving critical thinking.
  • Learn how to stay updated on its development and future updates.
  • Brainstorm via chat about creative use cases.

$129/person – includes live attendance and any-time access to the recording and the presentation slides and receiving a participation certificate.

To arrange group discounts, to submit a purchase order, or for any registration questions, email admin@library20.com.

NotebookLM: A Powerful Tool for Learning

This will be both useful and fun!

Sign up now