New technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) are revolutionizing the Austrian museum sector, helping to reduce barriers and create inclusive educational formats. From the automatic translation of audio guides to the personalization of museum visits, AI offers a multitude of new ways for museums to reach everyone and provide information in an accessible manner. Digital technologies also open up new avenues for participation. At the same time, museums face the challenge of maintaining their role as trusted venues for knowledge transfer, discourse, and community building in the face of growing disinformation from AI-generated content and algorithmic biases. Numerous events confirm this trend and promote discourse and knowledge transfer, such as the annual international online conference in January at the Belvedere, information services offered by the Austrian Museums Association, and the Austrian Museum Day every October, which most recently, in 2025, was themed "AI and Digitization in Museums – Democratizing Knowledge, Activating Collections.".
The study revealed that the crucial question is not whether museums use AI, but under what conditions and to whose advantage. Museums are challenged to strike a balance between innovation and regulation. This goes far beyond the question of which tools can be used legally without incurring risks regarding data protection or copyright.
The example of Natural History Museum illustrates how the museum management deals with the opportunities and challenges:
Administration as an application area
- Writing business correspondence
- Translation of texts into different languages
- Clear presentation of economic indicators
- Locating artworks in cases of heterogeneous confiscation (cultural pool at the NHM)
AI guidelines for legally compliant work
- Regulations specifying which tools can be used for which data and use cases
- Regulations specifying which security-relevant and personal data may not be entered into open systems
- Respect for copyright in short quotations and licenses
Value creation
- Licenses for own works
- Membership in a collecting society
- Open science strategy for scientific publications, digitized cultural assets or source code for software solutions
Participation and education
- Employee training
- Promoting social dialogue as a museum
- The museum as an active interface between people and objects, between science, art and culture
Source: Austrian Museums Association