How are museums using AI - Commentary
I felt that this article did a good job of representing the variety of ways that AI can be useful for museums and improving the visitor experience. One thing that sticks out in particular is the use of chat bots and other forms of AI to engage with visitors and answer questions. I think this then raises the question of how AI is used to replace work that would otherwise be done by humans and if it serves as an appropriate replacement. If it can be used to answer basic questions, that allows the museum to reach more people than they might otherwise and can free up time and energy for humans to focus on other aspects of the visitor experience. So in this sense, it’s a positive change for museums. On the other hand, there may be circumstances in which the use of AI replaces interactions with other people in a way that creates less valuable engagement with visitors and is not accompanied by any other significant difference in the visitor experience. So I think it’s important to think not only about where AI can be used in museum spaces, but also what other changes follow to make sure that the change actually creates a better experience.