Research to explore how culture sector can use AI in a responsible way

Arts Council England (ACE) and Goldsmiths, University of London, have announced a collaboration to produce best practice guidance around the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the culture sector.

The collaboration has received a fellowship award from Bridging the Responsible AI Divide (Braid), a national research programme funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

The award will support Goldsmiths’ senior lecturer in digital culture and society, Oonagh Murphy, to work with the arts council over the next 18 months exploring how AI could be integrated in an ethical and responsible way into the work of the arts council and the organisations it supports. 

Murphy was previously the principal investigator and co-founder of the Museums + AI Network, a research network that explored the ethical implications of AI in museums.

The new guidance will focus on harnessing the benefits of experimenting with AI as well as exploring the risks it might present to intellectual property rights and the livelihoods of people who work in the sector, and what might be done to mitigate those risks.

Murphy's research will involve interviews with arts council staff and other cultural sector professionals to understand how AI might impact their work, as well as reviewing emerging literature and good practice around the use of AI.

She said: “I am delighted to be working with ACE to develop policies, practices and frameworks that will support the responsible adoption of AI technologies. This project takes a whole organisation approach, and the embedded nature of the research fellowship provides a unique opportunity to create new ways of thinking about how AI will impact on the work of ACE today, tomorrow and into the future.”

Tonya Nelson, the arts council’s executive director of enterprise and innovation, said: “Helping cultural organisations understand and integrate new technologies into their work is a vital part of the arts council’s mission, there is clearly potential for artificial intelligence to have a huge impact on the cultural sector.

“We look forward to working with Dr Murphy to better understand how the sector can harness these technologies responsibly, to help artists and cultural organisations develop innovative business models and create brilliant work that reaches more people from all backgrounds, in every part of the country.”

Braid is a three-year research programme funded by the AHRC and led by the University of Edinburgh, with support from the Ada Lovelace Institute and the BBC.