I presented to a packed room last week, at the Inform USA conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

While we didn't finish all the planned content, I certainly conveyed my main messages and activated the industry to think more about the use of generative AI in Information and Referral (I&R):

- Generative AI is now very good at many things, language in particular.

- I&R is all about language, from the curation of resource data, to the aiding of help seekers and sharing data with partners.

- Yanzio has practical tools using generative AI now, actively helping I&R's and 2-1-1s in the US and Canada.

- Yanzio's results are rated 98% "excellent" or "very good" quality by an independent Inform USA-certified database curator.

- AI can multiply the effort of any knowledge worker who uses it, helping I&Rs that have been chronically understaffed and underfunded for decades.

- Any I&R can reach out and start working with Yanzio to deploy AI in their organization now.

The lively discussion in the room reflected both the excitement and concerns about using AI. While many people see the incredible opportunities, some are concerned about risks and potential job displacement it may cause.

My response is that regardless of what you may currently think, this powerful new technology is here today, and is improving at a rapid pace. Our civilization has gone through many technology changes, and we're now going through another one.

I&R has faced some of those technology transitions with initial trepidation, including telephony (1960s), computerization of paper records (1990s), publishing resource directories to the web (2000s) and live chat and texting (2010s). But in every case we found a way to channel and incorporate those changes and became a better, stronger industry as a result.

Other voices at the conference who painted a picture that AI is unreliable, are not doing their homework with real I&R data and real AI working on practical applications. It is working well and already producing reliable benefits. Yanzio can prove it with over 5 million AI requests made already this year for multiple 2-1-1's in the US and Canada. Assessments by independent, certified resource database curators verify that it is producing excellent results.

And the question "will this cause job displacement" is answered by the people running I&R operations, like 2-1-1 Directors...not Yanzio or any AI vendor, or commentators with no experience running an I&R.

Leaders running I&Rs will rely upon their experience and vision to choose to employ the people and tools that are most effective to the help seekers they serve.

I'm counseling my university-age children on how to navigate these changes: Be the person who knows how to use AI well in your professional life, not the person who doesn't know or won't learn AI and is therefore concerned about their job.

I readily admit that we all have to be thoughtful, careful and ethical in our deployment of AI technologies. I welcome industry guidelines, rules and government regulation and legislation and ask fellow industry leaders to help us start that process. Those conversations already started last week with senior leadership at Inform USA and United Way Worldwide.

We as an industry have the opportunity to deploy and shape the use of AI, aligned with our standards, ethics and best practices. And in ways that solve those chronic staff and funding shortages we've endured for decades.

If we don't take that opportunity, other parties will do so and possibly in ways that are not aligned with the vibrant and high-integrity ecosystem we've built over almost 50 years.

Who is ready to join me in this incredible opportunity to innovate and advance the I&R field, our way?

Here are my presentation materials.