Expert Panel II: Global Perspectives on Open Heritage and Ethical Artificial Intelligence

How Can Equitable Access to Heritage Help Solve Global Challenges? And Exploratory Dialogue Welcome and High-Level Contributions on Equitable Access to Heritage in the Context of UNESCO’s Mandate (video 3 of 4 of the dialogue) How can equitable access to heritage help solve global challenges? That is the question we addressed during our Exploratory Dialogue, a major event Creative Commons hosted on 29 April, 2026, at UNESCO House in Paris, France, to celebrate the Open Heritage Statement and explore its synergies with UNESCO’s priorities in tackling the most urgent problems facing the world today. Learn more at https://openheritagestatement.org/ The purpose of Panel II was to probe the intersections of artificial intelligence (AI) and open heritage and to address any tensions affecting the sharing of heritage in an environment increasingly mediated by AI systems and tools. It was set against the backdrop of the emergence of AI and its phenomenal impact on cultural heritage institutions, pointing to both promises and perils. As heritage is now increasingly used as data for training AI, this panel addressed ethical considerations around who can access and for what purpose. Anna Tumadóttir moderated the conversation between Lorena Aldana, Head of External Relations and Advocacy, Europeana Foundation, and Johanne Bouchard, Human Rights Officer, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, who both offered nuanced views on ways to navigate a rapidly changing landscape. She opened the conversation with a question: How do we protect access to heritage for humans, in the public interest, while recognizing the impact that AI might be having on the stewards, the collections, the communities that are represented? Lorena Aldana, said that Europeana’s mission is very much aligned with the Open Heritage Statement, which it endorses and supports as a reflection of its commitment to openness. She made several thought-provoking points. In this liminal moment, she asked rhetorically, will the cultural heritage sector (as a responsible steward of high-quality, multilingual, diverse data) shape AI, or be shaped by AI? She said the sector had never been a passive observer of digital change. To the contrary, it is actively building infrastructures and standards grounded in public values. She called for the need to establish a shared vision across the sector, and presented some of the findings of the Europeana “Alignment Assembly on Culture for AI”, which she said is articulating the ethical boundaries for how cultural heritage is used and reused in the AI era, so that it is not absorbed into opaque systems that are extractive or misaligned with its values. She said in order to get there, Europeana was supporting the development of a European “Public AI” concept, as a more democratic, pluralistic and fair alternative ecosystem that is grounded in cultural heritage and its values. Johanne Bouchard shared a cultural rights perspective, according to which “access to and participation in all aspects of heritage are key resources, because they allow each person to develop and express their humanity, their worldviews, and the meanings that they give to their existence and to their development.” As concerns AI, she emphasized the importance of contextualization and participation of source communities in issues regarding their heritage. She also called for measures to ensure the disclosure of AI-generated content, traceability of data sources, transparency of AI algorithms, information-sharing requirements, in order for people to know how their data is being used, as well as mechanisms to raise concerns and the possibility to rectify how data is being used online. She said that as vocal actors in the sector, we could make a difference.