This document is the final report of the EuropeanaTech AI in relation to GLAMs Task Force, which was established by the EuropeanaTech Community in 2019. The purpose of this Task Force was to do a horizon scanning exercise and investigate the role and impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in the cultural heritage sector.
The report provides an overview of a survey that received 56 responses from cultural heritage and research institutions. It found that almost all the respondents (91.8%) are interested in at least one AI topic, and more than half of them (54%) show expertise in one of the provided topics. The projects reported in the survey span a variety of goals and media types, with most of the projects aimed at digitisation and discoverability. The main challenges reported relate to the skills and expertise required of internal staff and the availability of appropriately annotated training data. In addition, cultural heritage professionals across eight European institutions were approached for an in depth interview.
All interviewees agree on the potential of AI for cultural heritage and see value in its further investigation. The interviewees stressed the need for cross-departmental collaboration, the lack of data with relevant annotations of sufficient and consistent quality, and the complexities of tooling, evaluation and the integration of AI into existing infrastructure. Several interviewees expressed concerns regarding ethics and how best to demonstrate and communicate the value of applying AI.
