Brendan Ciecko, Exploring Artificial Intelligence in Museums, CUSEUM, 25 February 2016
Artificial Intelligence. It’s a concept that holds lots of promise, generates endless buzz, and is starting to make its way into everyday life. “In 2015, artificial intelligence went mainstream,” and undoubtedly, in 2016, we will begin to see an increase in experimentation within the cultural space.
In today’s post, we’ll explore some of AI’s most powerful uses related to machine learning and its impact on galleries, libraries, archives, and museums.
What is machine learning?
“Machine learning is a method of data analysis that automates analytical model building. Using algorithms that iteratively learn from data, machine learning allows computers to find hidden insights without being explicitly programmed where to look.” – SAS’s Machine Learning: What It Is & why It Matters
Collections
It comes as no surprise that museums have tremendous amounts of data. Strides have been made over the past decade towards structuring collections data and making it available for the public to access and experiment with. While still highly untapped, this valuable metadata holds power and yields interesting ways to analyze collections, objects, and creators in new ways. But, it also requires resources, tools, time, and expertise to work with.
