Digital Curation and AI

Abstract

In this article, Clemens Neudecker discusses various use cases, from text recognition to image analysis or classification to contextualization, that have already demonstrated how digitization and curation can benefit from the use of AI. But applying black-box technologies from the private sector to cultural data without fully understanding the implications also involves risks. This paper presents two examples of the adoption of AI in cultural heritage from the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin (Berlin State Library), highlights some of the recent criticisms of data practices in the domain of AI, and offers ideas and suggestions regarding the potential role and contribution of digital curators and cultural heritage institutions for the benefit of AI.