Museums Meet Machines: How AI Is Transforming Heritage

Artificial intelligence is making its way into museums, galleries and libraries across the UK. According to a recent survey by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, nearly 25% of heritage organizations are using AI tools.

AI is helping heritage institutions in three main ways:

Managing Collections More Efficiently
AI can help digitize collections, add metadata tags and generate transcripts. This makes collections more searchable and accessible to visitors online.

Improving the Visitor Experience
Chatbots can answer visitor questions. AI can also personalize experiences by recommending relevant exhibits based on a visitor's interests.

Boosting Business
AI generates ideas for social media posts and marketing campaigns. It can also help forecast attendance and optimize ticket pricing.

However, there are risks to be aware of when implementing AI:

Discrimination: AI used to identify people in images could reflect and amplify societal biases.
Copyright Issues: AI that sources and reuses protected content could infringe on copyrights.
Misinformation: Chatbots could spread misleading information if not properly monitored.

To address these risks, heritage institutions should rigorously test AI tools, properly cite any AI-generated content, and develop policies guiding AI use.

Dr. Mathilde Pavis, who conducted research on AI use in the heritage sector, said “Realizing the technology’s promise requires sector-wide collaboration on its challenges.” With the right safeguards and oversight, AI can help heritage organizations thrive in the digital age.

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