Van Gogh, then a cuppa? How museums are tracking our moves, The Times, 20 July 2021

Galleries are using new gadgets and big data to follow us around their exhibits, writes Jade Cuttle.

Have you ever marched through a museum with nothing but a Renaissance masterpiece on your mind — glancing briefly at the bits of broken pots that pave the way to the prize exhibit, after which it’s coffee, a slice of carrot cake and home? Well, prepare to be rumbled. You are being watched (and very possibly judged).

A group of Bologna museums have installed AI-powered cameras to judge people’s facial expressions and gauge exactly how enchanted (or not) they are by the works. The ShareArt device translates each gaze into a graphic and ranks it either happy, sad, surprised, angry or neutral, while also noting the viewer’s gender, age and eye movements.

Read more. May involve paywall.