Photo by Xavi Gantes.
The Historical Archive of the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC) was the epicenter of the celebration of the conference “Cultural Heritage and the processes of digital transformation: the impact of Artificial Intelligence” on April 29, promoted by the Stellae 5.0 program under the auspices of CRUSOE.
The event brought together leaders and experts from various fields to discuss the impact of AI on heritage preservation and management. It is framed within the activities coordinated by the Institutional Chair of Digital Cultural Heritage, based at the Inter-University Research Center for Cultural Atlantic Countries (CISPAC) of USC.
The purpose of the day was to share varied perspectives on how artificial intelligence is transforming archival management and documentary heritage. Digitization has become a central element of change and innovation in economy and society as a whole, and cultural heritage is no exception.
Among cutting-edge technologies, AI stands out as one of the most influential. The ability to automate processes and improve the description and contextualization of documents opens up new possibilities and challenges that need to be explored and understood from various perspectives.
The event was chaired by the general secretary of the USC, Dulce María García Mella, and was attended by the advisor to the Ministry of Digital Transformation and Public Function, Mar Pérez Morillo; the deputy director general of State Archives of the Ministry of Culture, Ana Mª López; the professor of the University of Vigo and CEO of the start up IMPULSSE, Javier Martínez; the director of the public sector and healthcare of NTT Data, Pablo Manzano; and the scientific director of the Chair of Digital Cultural Heritage promoted by CRUSOE, Juan Castro.
In addition, there were voices from various sectors related to digital cultural heritage, tourism, ICT and audiovisual, as well as academics from the three public universities of Galicia and prominent archive managers.
After the presentations, attendees participated in a lively exchange of ideas on relevant topics, such as the evolution of the skills and professional profiles needed, the economic sustainability of the digital transformation of heritage, strategies for the dissemination of heritage assets, and the importance of multidisciplinary and collaborative approaches. The event concluded with a few words from the Executive President of the CRUSOE General Technical Secretariat, Mr. Salustiano Mato.
