“How are museums using artificial intelligence, and is AI the future of museums?”

In the article “How are museums using artificial intelligence, and is AI the future of museums,” it’s interesting how the author divides the uses of AI into two parts: direct interaction with visitors and behind-the-scene analytics forecasting visitor behavior. This resembles categorization of museum staff: some serve as tour guides for visitors through direct conversation and others do analytics and curating work behind. However, even when bots are performing basically the same task as human guides in museums, such as answering visitors’ questions and telling stories using voice and gestures, their pure presence makes the whole museum experience more engaging and eye-opening for visitors.

There are many innovative ways through which AI can help enhance visitors’ experience. Not only serving as an additional guide inside the museum, AI can help make the visitors’ entire museum visit experience more coherent and memorable. For instance, to leave a deeper impression of artworks in the visitors’ minds, AI can match people’s selfies with artworks and provide visitors with a matching game of artworks and photojournalism, as mentioned in the reading. Similarly, I believe AI can do more such tasks to make viewers feel like they are being part of the artwork exhibited. For instance, there can be a virtual dress up application, virtually putting attire or costumes from ancient periods (of personnel in the painting) onto the visitors themselves.

AI can also help gap the time difference between the artworks and the visitors. Visitors can be given the power to travel back in time and “create” history with AI. For instance, visitors can have simulated conversations with historical figures, which is actually played by the chatbot. Museums can also use AI to create filters that transform visitors’ artworks or photographs into the particular style of an artist, period, or technique. Using AI in this way shortens the distance between the historical works and the contemporary visitors.