Atlanta museums turn to AI to enhance visitor experience
Writer: Pablo Marquez
August 2024 — Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing institutions across the globe, and Atlanta’s beloved museums are no exception. As a disruptive technology drawing comparisons to the internet’s early days, AI can play an integral role in museums by bridging the technological divide, enhancing visitor experiences, and streamlining operations for an overall improved community asset.
“We know that AI is going to influence not only the engagement of guests, but also the business of what we are doing as well. Currently, we are wrestling with the question of how the tool can be used for good and advance our mission,” said Edwin Link, the executive director of the Children’s Museum of Atlanta (CMA), in an interview with Focus:. CMA has tapped different technologies to engage children in early learning, including initiatives like NoRILLA — a mixed-reality system that combines hands-on experimentation with AI. “Our early research has shown that having this mixed-reality platform improves children’s learning by 5 times compared to equivalent tablet or computer games that are only on a screen, while also improving their enjoyment,” said Dr. Nesra Yannier, the creator of NoRILLA, in an interview with CMA in 2021.
Historically, the role of museums was to preserve humanity’s collective heritage, culture, history and art for future generations. In the digital age, however, museums are increasingly adopting tools such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) — which rely on AI technology — to engage visitors beyond traditional exhibition layouts. Additionally, robots and AI chatbots haven seen a rise in activity across notable museums in Europe and the Americas.
In 2016, Paris’ Musée du quai Branly featured Berenson, a robot art critic designed by anthropologist Denis Vidal and robotics engineer Philippe Gaussier. Berenson utilized AI to record visitor interactions with art pieces and provide personalized feedback based on these outcomes.
Fast forward to 2022, when the Louvre presented Leonardo, an AI-powered virtual robot that provided personalized tours and real-time information, creating informative interactions with visitors. In 2023, the Musée D’Orsay in Paris featured an interactive AI-powered version of Vincent Van Gogh, allowing the Dutch painter to ‘converse’ about his life and answer visitor questions.
The Museum of Tomorrow in Rio de Janeiro uses IRIS+, an AI chatbot that interacts with visitors, addresses their inquiries, and offers real-time sign language translation for deaf visitors, and personalized audio descriptions for those with impaired vision. Similarly, the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (MNBAQ) uses a conversational AI agent that allows visitors to delve deeply into 10 artworks from the museum’s permanent collection.
In the United States, the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) in New York City offers the Met Replica, which scans physical pieces of art via a QR code and brings them to life through AI. And behind the scenes, the Smithsonian Institution utilizes AI for predictive maintenance, by employing sensors and machine learning algorithms to predict equipment failures and schedule repairs.
But an exciting development arguably most relevant to visitors is the use of AI in art exhibitions.
“In a recent foray into AI, we generated part of an exhibition titled Al Dente: The Design of Pasta, to tell stories about pasta shapes,” Laura Flusche, executive director of Museum of Design Atlanta, told Focus:.
While Flusche identified that there are inherent risks with advancements in technology, it also can increase our capacity to make the world better.
For more information, please visit:
https://childrensmuseumatlanta.org/
https://www.museumofdesign.org/
