Disability, Museum & AI
Rethinking AI design through disability-led innovation
Artificial intelligence is increasingly promoted as a solution to accessibility challenges in museums and cultural institutions. Yet these technologies are often developed for people with disabilities rather than by and with them. This project explores how disability-led approaches can reshape AI design and lead on AI innovation to create truly inclusive, effective and meaningful experiences that embody principles of equitable and fair representation.
Why this matters
AI has real potential to improve access to cultural spaces. However, current approaches often overlook the experiential knowledge and lived experience of people with disabilities, treating them like end users rather than leaders and innovators. This reproduces the very same barriers the technology .
This project responds to that challenge by placing lived experience at the centre of research and design, recognising disabled people as leaders, co-creators, and drivers of innovation
What this project does
- Runs a pilot survey to understand the hopes, expectations and concerns about the development and use of AI in museums of people with disabilities who identify as regular museums visitors and have ideas about AI they want to share.
- Investigates the rapidly expanding market of AI tools in the cultural sector, especially those claiming to adopt inclusive principles.
- Helps museums critically assess which technologies are ethical, transparent and genuinely accessible
- Promotes disability-led design and responsible innovation
- Builds sector-wide capacity to make informed and responsible decisions about AI
Disability Museum AI 