Technological acceleration and AI impact on skills and competences in the cultural sector

Education and Research Session 2023

Chair: Herman Bashiron Mendolicchio, University of Barcelona, Spain

In the unstoppable development of technological progress, the emergence of artificial intelligence already occupies a preeminent position. Its application in different fields of human activity will certainly produce far-reaching changes at all levels: economic, social, and cultural, among others. The educational and cultural sector are called to identify, analyze, and reflect deeply on the challenges that these advances entail, both on the benefits, on the opportunities and on the risks (Santaella, 2021). A specific focus of this session will be placed on the impact that technological acceleration and AI will have on the skills and competences needed in the cultural sector –in cultural heritage, and in different cultural and creative industries– and consequently on the creation of new occupational profiles, new learning processes and new ways of working, researching, and creating (OECD, 2022).

This track aims to explore the role of culture and education in this paradigm change and international reflection, through theoretical contributions, case studies, best-practices and other empirical research approaches.

The contributions to this track could address, but are not limited to, to the following topics:

  • What are the specific challenges that AI will have on skills and competences in the cultural heritage sector?
  • How will Artificial Intelligence impact upskilling and reskilling of the cultural sector?
  • What new occupational profiles will emerge in the cultural sector due to AI?
  • How is the education and training sector addressing these challenges in the field of skills and competences?
  • What are the responsibilities of the cultural sector in dealing with this technological acceleration?

Main references

Fonseca, J., Borges-Tiago, T., Tiago, F., & Silva, S. (2021, February). Virtual communities in COVID-19 era: a citizenship perspective. In Strategic Innovative Marketing and Tourism in the COVID-19 Era: 9th ICSIMAT Conference 2020 (pp. 163-170). Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Laurent Giraud, Ali Zaher, Selena Hernandez & Al Ariss Akram (2022) The impacts of artificial intelligence on managerial skills, Journal of Decision Systems, DOI: 10.1080/12460125.2022.2069537

Münster, K. et al. (2021, August, 28 - September, 1) Teaching Digital Cultural Heritage and Digital Humanities the Current State and Prospects. Learning through Virtual Tools: Visit a Place in the Pandemic Era. Paper presented at the 28th CIPA Symposium “Great Learning & Digital Emotion”, Beijing.

OECD (2022), “Cultural and creative jobs and skills: who, what, where, and why it matters”, in The Culture Fix: Creative People, Places and Industries, OECD Publishing, Paris. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1787/1357bbe7-en

Santaella, L. (2021) Inteligencia artificial y cultura: oportunidades y desafíos para el sur global. UNESCO. Available at: http://forocilac.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/PolicyPapers-CILAC-InteligenciaArtificialCultura-ES.pdf