The report sets out the European Parliament’s position ahead of the European Commission’s forthcoming AI Strategy for the Cultural and Creative Sectors, announced under the Culture Compass and expected in 2027. It explores how AI is transforming the creation, distribution, discoverability and preservation of cultural content across sectors including music, audiovisual media, publishing, cultural heritage and journalism. In the process of drafting the report, the European Commission collected feedback through a call for evidence that recorded 5,400 responses, including a contribution from NEMO.
The report recognises the opportunities AI offers for innovation, accessibility, audience engagement and cultural heritage preservation, while at the same time highlighting challenges related to copyright, transparency, fair remuneration, deepfakes, the use of creators’ works for AI training, and the impact of AI on employment and cultural diversity. The draft calls for a dedicated EU strategy that balances innovation with the protection of creators, rights holders and cultural institutions through both horizontal regulation and sector-specific measures.
Cultural heritage and museums in the report
Although the report primarily focuses on creators, copyright and the wider cultural and creative sectors, it includes a dedicated section on cultural heritage and several recommendations of direct relevance to museums.
The report recognises the growing role of AI in the restoration, preservation, virtual reconstruction and accessibility of cultural heritage. It acknowledges the potential of AI to widen public access to collections and heritage sites, while also warning that AI systems may reinforce existing biases in datasets and metadata, reducing the visibility of under-represented collections, minority languages and less-represented cultures.
The report further calls for support for the responsible uptake of AI by museums and cultural institutions, including funding, capacity building and continued human oversight. It stresses the need for common European standards and guidance on metadata quality, AI ethics, intellectual property and data governance in the cultural heritage sector.
The report also highlights that cultural heritage institutions should retain control over digitised representations of their collections and that AI-generated reconstructions and interpretations should be clearly identified. In addition, it calls for investment in high-quality, rights-compliant and culturally diverse datasets, with particular attention to under-represented European languages and cultures.
NEMO recommendations reflected in the draft
Several of the report’s recommendations closely reflect priorities outlined in NEMO’s contribution to the open call for evidence.
- Recognition of museums as actors in AI policy through a dedicated cultural heritage section (paragraphs. 24-27).
- Investment in museum capacity, funding and skills development for responsible AI adoption (para. 25).
- Control and governance of museum data, including preserving institutional control over digitised collections (Recital O; para. 26).
- Common standards on metadata quality, AI ethics, intellectual property and data governance (para. 26).
- Protection of cultural and linguistic diversity and better representation of under-represented cultures and languages in AI systems (paras. 24, 25, 27).
