AI as Curator? Machine-Assisted Exhibition Interpretation

AI as Curator? Experimenting with Machine-Assisted Interpretation in Exhibitions Hosted by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) +Digital Library Federation (DLF) in Partnership with LibShack Presented by: Hassna Ramadan, CEO & Co-Founder of LibShack Friday, September 18, 2026, 1- 2 p.m. ET MLK Memorial Library Conference Center Room 401. C 901 G St. NW Washington, DC 20001 As AI tools become more embedded in cultural heritage work, what might it mean to treat them not only as back-end infrastructure, but as collaborators in interpretation? This interactive session invites participants to explore AI-assisted storytelling and exhibit interpretation through discussion, examples, live demonstration, and hands-on group activity. Designed for librarians, archivists, museum professionals, educators, and cultural heritage practitioners, the session will examine how AI can support exhibition development, visitor engagement, and institutional storytelling—while also considering ethics, responsible use, patron data, accessibility, and the hidden costs of AI infrastructure. Participants will see real-world examples of AI-assisted work with cultural and educational institutions, including a live demo of an AI avatar programmed to answer visitor questions about an exhibit. Attendees will then work in small groups to create a mini AI-assisted exhibit interpretation using a simple guided process. The session will close with an overview of LibShack’s work with libraries and museums, including AI avatars, AI-generated exhibits that track patron usage, project support, and AI fluency training for librarians, archivists, and museum educators.