C 15/40
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
12.1.2022
Wednesday 19 May 2021
54.
Stresses that good practices in AI technologies for the protection and accessibility of cultural heritage, in particular for people with disabilities, should be identified and shared between cultural networks across the Union, while encouraging research on the various uses of AI to promote the value, accessibility and preservation of cultural heritage; calls on the Commission and the Member States to promote the opportunities offered by the use of AI in the CCSI;
55.
Stresses that AI technologies can also be used to monitor the illicit trafficking of cultural objects and the destruction of cultural property, while supporting data collection for recovery and reconstruction efforts of both tangible and intangible cultural heritage; notes, in particular, that the development, deployment and use of AI in customs screening procedures may support efforts to prevent the illicit trafficking of cultural heritage, in particular to supplement systems which allow customs authorities to target their efforts and resources on items that pose the greatest risk;
56.
Notes that AI could benefit the research sector, for example through the role that predictive analytics can play in fine-tuning data analysis, for example on the acquisition and movement of cultural objects; stresses that the Union must step up investment and foster partnerships between industry and academia in order to enhance research excellence at European level;
57.
Recalls that AI can be a revolutionary tool for promoting cultural tourism and highlights its considerable potential in predicting tourism flows, which could help cities struggling with over-tourism;
Cultural and creative sectors and industries (CCSI)
58.
Regrets the fact that culture is not among the priorities outlined in policy options and recommendations on AI at Union level, notably the Commission’s white paper of 19 February 2020 on AI; calls for these recommendations to be revised in order to make culture an AI policy priority at Union level; calls on the Commission and the Member States to address the potential impact of the development, deployment and use of AI technologies on the CCSI and to make the most of the Next Generation EU recovery plan to digitise these sectors to respond to new forms of consumption in the 21st century;
59.
Points out that AI has now reached the CCSI, as exemplified by the automatic production of texts, videos and pieces of music; emphasises that creative artists and cultural workers must have the digital skills and training required to use AI and other digital technologies; calls on the Commission and the Member States to promote the opportunities offered by the use of AI in the CCSI, by making more funding available from science and research budgets, and to establish digital creativity centres in which creative artists and cultural workers develop AI applications, learn how to use these and other technologies and test them;
60.
Acknowledges that AI technologies have the potential to boost a growing number of jobs in the CCSI facilitated by greater access to these technologies; emphasises, therefore, the importance of boosting digital literacy in the CCSI to make these technologies more inclusive, usable, learnable, and interactive for these sectors;
61.
Emphasises that the interaction between AI and the CCSI is complex and requires an in-depth assessment; welcomes the Commission’s report of November 2020 entitled ‘Trends and Developments in Artificial Intelligence — Challenges to the IPRS Framework’ and the study on copyright and new technologies: copyright data management and artificial intelligence; underlines the importance of clarifying the conditions of use of copyright-protected content as data input (images, music, films, databases, etc.) and in the production of cultural and audiovisual outputs, whether created by humans with the assistance of AI or autonomously generated by AI technologies; invites the Commission to study the impact of AI on the European creative industries; reiterates the importance of European data and welcomes the statements made by the Commission in this regard, as well as the placing of artificial intelligence and related technologies high on the agenda;
62.
Stresses the need to set up a coherent vision of AI technologies in the CCSI at Union level; calls on the Member States to strengthen the focus on culture in their AI national strategies to ensure that the CCSI embrace innovation and remain competitive and that cultural diversity is safeguarded and promoted at Union level in the new digital context;