Over the past years, artificial intelligence (AI) has become an important key technology. Now the technology appears sufficiently mature to extract patterns from large-scale, complex data, it becomes important to think of how it can responsibly be applied to concrete application areas.
AI also can be of importance for the culture and media sectors. For example, it can be used to gain deeper insight into source materials and creative processes, to enrich large-scale cultural heritage collections and make them more accessible, to reach and represent broader audiences, and to strenghten (digital) information literacy and the resilience of digital citizens.
At the same time, given the essential role of human (possibly subjective) interpretation, the challenges posed by these sectors are far less trivial for AI than contexts in which a more clear-cut truth is known. As a consequence, the culture and media sectors are extremely suitable to study how AI technology can be used in a more ‘human’ way.
As these discussions are being held, and concrete interest has emerged to map current questions, wishes and challenges for AI in the culture and media sectors, we would like to involve a broader set of stakeholders. On the one hand, the sectors include larger, stronger parties and institutes, that already are in quite advanced state regarding the adoption of digitization and AI. From them, we would like to hear what AI projects they would like to conduct in the shorter- and longer-term future, and how a larger stakeholder network may support them in this.
At the same time, there are quite a few smaller parties and independents, who are interested in these themes, but individually are not at capacity to join larger AI projects. With the corona crisis, we even more strongly are facing a situation where digital servicing becomes more important than ever, while the sectors are under higher strain than ever. We also would like to hear from these parties, such that their questions, wishes and needs are included too, and the right connections may be made, looking ahead to the future.
