Artificial intelligence is opening up new possibilities for cultural heritage institutions—from accelerating digitisation and metadata creation to improving access to archives and collections. At the same time, its adoption raises important questions about trust, provenance, copyright and data protection.
In a new episode of Humans of AI, Juha Henriksson explores these developments and considers what they mean for the cultural heritage sector. Henriksson brings a distinctive combination of expertise to the conversation: he has been Director of Music Archive Finland since 1997, holds a master’s degree in computer science and a doctorate in musicology, and is an Associate Professor in Ethnomusicology at the University of Helsinki. He also works as a Partnership Manager for Time Machine Organisation and is a Europeana Ambassador.
From digitisation to agentic AI
The discussion examines how AI is changing cultural heritage work, including its potential to support the digitisation of collections, enrich metadata and make archival materials more accessible. But technological opportunities also come with responsibilities. How can institutions assess whether AI-generated information is reliable? How can the provenance of digital materials be maintained, and how should copyright and data protection be addressed when working with archival collections?
The episode also turns to the rise of agentic AI and the broader implications of increasingly capable AI systems. Rather than viewing AI simply as a set of tools, the conversation considers the wider changes it may bring to the cultural heritage sector—and the importance of understanding these developments in their technological, institutional and societal contexts.
What does the cultural heritage sector need?
A central theme is the need for cultural heritage institutions to engage actively with AI developments while safeguarding the principles that underpin their work. Collaboration between heritage professionals, researchers and creative industries will be essential to explore new applications, share expertise and bring collections to life in meaningful ways.
Henriksson’s perspective is informed by his involvement in a range of international initiatives and networks, including the common European data space for cultural heritage, the Cultural Heritage Cloud, AI4LAM and Europeana’s Impact, Copyright, Climate Action and EuropeanaTech Communities.
The episode offers a timely opportunity to reflect on how the sector can approach AI critically and constructively: making use of its potential while ensuring that questions of trust, accountability and responsible access remain central.
Watch the conversation
The episode is part of Humans of AI, a series exploring the people, ideas and developments shaping artificial intelligence.