Museum Practice in the age of AI: use of new technologies and ethical implications This session explores how emerging technologies and social media are reshaping and challenging museum practice. ICME invites curators, educators and museum workers to participate, particularly colleagues working in and with Indigenous and community-based institutions. Presenters will share their experience, concerns and reflections using AI, digital tools and other innovations on curatorial and institutional practice. Are these technologies really helping museums stay relevant for younger audiences, or do they represent a risk for community-based work? How are local communities reacting? Are these “new” tools facilitating the respect for sensitive collections and access to different knowledges and creativity, or on the contrary, are they reinforcing extraction and cultural appropriation? ICME aims to join the global conversation on ethical frameworks as our field increasingly adopts digital tools. In this session we encourage discussions on the implications and responsibilities of using new technologies. We ask: What responsibilities do museums with Indigenous and sensitive material culture have when sharing digital collections, or when AI companies train their models on open-access ethnographic collections? We invite presenters to discuss the way museums can become advocates for digital rights and cultural sovereignty, through ethical and responsible AI use. ——————– Museum Practice in the Age of AI: Use of New Technologies and Ethical Implications Wednesday, 12th November 2025, 14:30 – 16:00 14:15 – 14:30   Coffee Break Moderator: Dr. Sing-Da Huang (National Museum of History, Taiwan) Moderator: Heidi McKinnon (Curators Without Borders/ICME Board, USA) 14:30 – 14:35   Introduction 14:35 – 14:45   Anli Chang (National Museum of Taiwan History, Taiwan): Co-Creating Historical Memory with Indigenous Communities: The VR Production of Paliljaw 1874 at the National Museum of Taiwan History 14:45 – 14:55   Dr. Heng Song and Professor Mohamed Gamal Abdelmonem (The Centre for Architecture, Urbanism & Global Heritage (CAUGH) and York School of Architecture, University of York, UK): Using AI in bridging time and space of ancient sites: The Integration of AI data systems, museum collections and virtual models of ancient Hawara Pyramid and Labyrinth complex in Fayoum, Egypt (Online) 14:55 – 15:05   Isabel Cristina Stappers Felipe Beirigo (Netherlands Institute for Sound & Vision, Netherlands): Ethical AI for Cultural Heritage: Lessons learnt from the DE-BIAS project 15:05 – 15:15   Mika (Jaeyun) Noh Space Ba, South Korea) Reimagining Cultural Equity Through AI Curatorship: A Case Study from Korea 15:15 – 15:25   Chilala Habeenzu (Tazara Memorial Museum, Zambia) Digital Tracks, Cultural Crossroads: Technology and Community Agency at the TAZARA Memorial Museum 15:25 – 15:35   Agnes Aljas and Pille Runnel (Estonian National Museum, Estonia) Digital Participation: Reimagining Ethnographic Collections in the Age of Artificial Intelligence 15:35 – 15:45   Dr. Nagmeldeen Morshed Hamza (Department of Antiquities and Museums Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates): New technologies in approaching Islamic and Arabic Manuscripts on European Papers 15:45 – 15:55   Alexandros Giannikopoulos (National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), Greece): Intangible Hand of God (Online) 15:55 – 16:10   Panel discussion