From Europeana Pro:
In September 2020, the Task Force surveyed professionals working in galleries, libraries, archives and museums (GLAMs), research institutions and the wider industry (including technology suppliers and the creative industries). The survey received 56 responses and the results offer valuable insights into the use of AI in the cultural heritage sector.
Almost all the respondents (91.8%) were interested in at least one AI topic, and more than half of them (54%) had expertise in this area. Several shared that they were already working on AI-related projects which were mostly aimed at digitisation and discoverability. However, many people also reported challenges in working with AI, particularly in relation to the skills and expertise which projects required of staff and a lack of appropriately annotated training data.
Everyone who was interviewed agreed that AI has great potential for cultural heritage, and wanted to investigate using it further. It was clear from many responses that AI will play an increasingly large and valuable role throughout the activities of cultural organisations, especially with regard to access, metadata extraction and enrichment. However, as in the survey, many people referred to challenges when working with AI, stressing the need for cross-departmental collaboration, the challenging lack of data with suitable annotations and the complexities of integrating AI into existing infrastructure. They also expressed concerns regarding ethics and how best to demonstrate and communicate the value of applying AI.
From the results of this Task Force, it is clear to see that AI and Machine Learning (ML) projects are already being carried out in GLAMs and have been for several years, even if they have not always been visible. We hope that the results of this Task Force will be one way to share and promote this work!
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