Public AI and the role of cultural heritage
The professional community of the common European data space for cultural heritage, which is stewarded by the Europeana Initiative, has published a new paper making the case for ‘Public AI:’ an AI ecosystem governed by public values rather than shaped by a handful of private companies. The paper argues that, as AI increasingly mediates how knowledge and culture are produced, accessed and interpreted, cultural heritage is well positioned to shape the infrastructure and rules governing AI in Europe.
The paper is divided into two main sections: (1) an overview of the sectoral context and relevant EU policies; and (2) a definition of Public AI and how cultural heritage can contribute to its realisation in Europe. For the latter point, four main points are raised to illustrate the role that cultural heritage institutions can play to support Public AI in Europe:
- Providing the authoritative, high-quality data and the knowledge infrastructure needed to keep it traceable, interpretable and reliable —
- Managing data access and reuse in fair and reciprocal ways, acting as trusted intermediaries
- Shaping how smaller, domain-relevant AI models are developed and used
- Strengthening public AI literacy, both within institutions and among wider audiences
Image credit: Ana Moreno, Europeana Foundation, 2026. Please note the image is slightly cropped from the original.