The Lighthouse Diary Entry #76: My Personal Code of Use on ChatGPT: Working with AI in Integrity, Creativity, and Compassion

Modeling responsible AI use is a powerful form of digital citizenship. In my context as a librarian, bibliotherapist, educator, and fan community member, it’s more than policy to practice. It is  formation.

1. I will use ChatGPT as a collaborator, not a crutch. I affirm that my voice, insight, and experience are primary. AI can support my clarity and output, but it will not replace my discernment, values, or lived knowledge. 

2. I will protect the privacy of people in my care. When working on bibliotherapy stories, student support materials, or community narratives, I will anonymize names and details, and I will never upload sensitive personal or medical data. 

 3. I will use AI to strengthen my advocacy, not compromise it. Whether I'm crafting workshop materials or writing about fandom justice, I commit to using ChatGPT to amplify truth, care, and dignity, not to dilute or sanitize uncomfortable realities. 

 4. I will fact-check and attribute. For any citations, lyrics, research, or shared ideas, I will verify sources and acknowledge creators. AI-generated responses will be cross-checked and revised before being used in public platforms. 

 5. I will remain reflective about the power and limits of AI. I understand that ChatGPT is trained on vast, sometimes biased datasets. I commit to questioning, rewording, and reframing outputs that may reinforce colonial, ableist, or extractive thinking. 

 6. I will honor my process and my pauses. Not every question needs an immediate answer. I will use silence, solitude, and community check-ins alongside my digital tools. I trust my pace and my rhythms.

Book Review: “Coming of Age in Second Life” (Princeton University Press, 2008)

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Teaching Information Literacy in the Age of Millineals

Information Literacy Millinneal Way from Zarah Gagatiga

Bulletin Board Displays: Digital Citizenship and A Growth Mindset (1 of 2)

This term, our library bulletin board's themes are digital citizenship and growth mindset. The former is part of the library's campaign on #milclicks and the later is the library's advocacy on life skills development. Needless to say, we have books and resources on information literacy, media literacy as well as programs integrating research skills in the content or subject areas. Over the years, activities that promote the readership of fiction and non-fiction books that cover the development of life skills have been set-up. Drumming up the growth mindset this year is our continued commitment to support lifelong learning.

Since a Media and Information Literacy (MIL) program is already in place and the teaching of research skills is being strengthened in content area teaching, I thought of touching on the responsible behavior expected of digital citizens via our library display and bulletin board. Academic integrity and plagiarism are two ideas being emphasized to students by observing correct citation and referencing practices. This is all well and good. But the use of online resources and social media requires courtesy and respect not only evidenced by proper citations and attributions. It is important that netizens behave as people of values, with morals and ethics.

First, netizens need to know basic security measures. Use of passwords and usernames is private and personal. As much as one needs the respect of using his or her own access keys to social media accounts, so does the next person. Second, asking permission when sharing posts and content of another in social media is an act of courtesy. Not everything online or in social media is for free. This means ownership. In this age of fake news and alternative facts, sources of information are often questioned. So, think before you click. Ask permission before you share that meme, photo or image or a news item from a friend's timeline on Facebook. Lastly, netizens need to remember that the things they do online and the posts they make on social media, including the comments, the likes and the messages they circulate from one network to another can be traced. This is called digital footprints.

These digital prints can actually tell so much about who you are and what you are like.