Museums have long served as custodians of human memory, preserving artifacts and knowledge across millennia. Now, two of the world's most influential cultural organizations are asking a pointed question: how is artificial intelligence reshaping that ancient mission?
UNESCO and the International Council of Museums (ICOM) have jointly launched a sweeping global survey aimed at understanding how cultural institutions around the world are currently deploying AI technologies — from visitor engagement tools and collection management systems to automated cataloguing and accessibility features.
The initiative arrives at a significant inflection point. For decades, museums experimented cautiously with digital technology, from the early adoption of CD-ROM encyclopedias in the 1990s to the virtual tour boom accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. AI represents a fundamentally different challenge — one that raises not only operational questions but deeper ethical ones about authorship, bias in historical interpretation, and the digitization of culturally sensitive materials.
By gathering data from institutions across every region and economic context, UNESCO and ICOM appear to be laying groundwork for future policy guidance. The survey echoes earlier landmark efforts, such as ICOM's 2022 redefinition of what a museum fundamentally is — a process that itself took years of global negotiation and reflected shifting ideas about institutional purpose in a digital age.
The broader historical arc here is striking. Institutions that once debated whether to install electric lighting or allow photography are now grappling with generative AI, predictive analytics, and algorithmically curated experiences. How museums respond to this moment may well define their relevance for the next generation of visitors.
Results from the survey are expected to inform international recommendations, offering a rare global snapshot of where cultural heritage institutions stand as artificial intelligence moves from experimental curiosity to operational reality.