Generative AI in Art Museum Interpretation: Examining Museum Institutional Perspectives and Implementations

Abstract

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is increasingly implemented within art museum exhibitions as a tool for interpretation. This qualitative multiple-case study investigated how art museums integrate GenAI into interpretive practice and how exhibition staff understand institutional, operational, and ethical implications surrounding the use of GenAI. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with museum professionals at the MIT Museum, the Dalí Museum, and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Participating museums were primarily implementing GenAI through participatory installations, conversational systems, and AI-assisted interpretive workflows. In conversations, interviewees described GenAI use as an interpretive extension of existing exhibition strategies, while institutional motivations included audience engagement, emotional connection, accessibility, and experimentation. However, interviewees also described challenges with GenAI reliability and the necessity of professional review. Across all three cases, GenAI was implemented as a tool to extend existing interpretive strategies through visitor participation and conversational interpretation rather than replace human interpretation. This study suggests that art museums are most likely to adopt GenAI when it extends their existing interpretive strategies while remaining subject to human review and curatorial oversight.