Revisit the NEMO European Museum Conference: Human after all – Museums in the wake of AI

In the opening keynote speech, AI ethicist and political philosopher Annette Zimmermann challenged technological determinism by arguing that AI is not an unstoppable force but a political and societal choice. Rather than seeing themselves as passive users of technology, museums were encouraged to think of their role as active contributors to democratic participation, critical thinking and public agency. The keynote returned to questions of power and responsibility. Who shapes technological development? Who benefits from it? And what role can trusted public institutions like museums play in ensuring that citizens remain active participants in the future being created around them?

In the strategic conversation, Museums as civic actors in the wake of AI, Magnus Hjort, Director General of the Swedish Psychological Defence Agency, and Vera Carasso, Director of the Royal Dutch Museums Association and Vice-Chair of NEMO's Executive Board, explored the role of museums as civic actors in the age of AI. Discussing trust, democratic resilience and the challenges of misinformation, they highlight how museums contribute to stronger, more connected societies through dialogue, critical engagement and community building.

Short Cuts, moderated by Heledd Ruddigkeit (NEMO), brought together a series of rapid-fire presentations showcasing how museums across Europe are already experimenting with AI in practice. Arūnas Gelūnas (Lithuanian National Museum of Art) shared how AI can be used to encourage slower and deeper engagement with artworks rather than accelerate consumption. Corinna Engel (Museum for Communication Frankfurt, Germany) shared examples of how museums can foster critical AI literacy and public understanding of algorithmic bias and human-machine communication. Giedrė Milerytė-Japertienė (National Museum of Lithuania) presented Lithuania's national digital cultural heritage platform and its use of AI to improve access to collections and cultural data. Sofiya Petrova (Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands) explored how curators in Dutch art museums are experimenting with AI in exhibition-making and reflected on both its opportunities and limitations. Finally, Janet Dugdale (Museums Association, United Kingdom) highlighted the growing importance of ethics in museum AI adoption and shared perspectives from ongoing work on AI and museum ethics.

This session opened with Prompting reality?, an interactive demonstration by Christine Koblitz (Wien Museum, Austria) exploring how AI-generated images can reproduce biases, stereotypes and assumptions. This set the stage for the panel discussion Trust, truth and AI – Museums as human mediators of reality?, moderated by Eva Koppen (ProMu), with Christine Koblitz, Ugnė Paberžytė (MO Museum) and Lea Pavlov (Estonian Health Museum). Together, they examined how museums can help audiences critically navigate AI-generated content, synthetic media and increasingly complex information environments, highlighting the continued importance of human interpretation, context and trust.

Two complementary panel discussions explored how artificial intelligence is transforming both everyday museum work and institutional leadership. The first one Changing from within: AI and the future of museum work, moderated by Trilce Navarrete (Erasmus University, the Netherlands), examined how AI is reshaping workflows, staff roles and organisational culture, with contributions from Tuuli Ahlholm (Finnish Postal Museum, Finland), Johannes C. Bernhardt (University of Konstanz, Germany) and Maaike Verberk (DEN, the Netherlands).

In the second panel, Leading the shift: Museums, AI and institutional strategy, moderator Merete Sanderhoff (National Gallery of Denmark) and panellists Oonagh Murphy (Goldsmiths, University of London/British Council), Gaja Zornada (Computer History Museum) and Olga Tykhonova (MUSEUM BOOSTER) explore how museums can move beyond AI experimentation towards strategic adoption. The discussion examines leadership, governance, organisational readiness and the importance of aligning AI initiatives with institutional values and mission in a rapidly changing technological landscape.