With the recent rapid development of AI technologies and the exponential increase in available data, there are new and transformative opportunities in various sectors, including the Cultural and Creative Sectors (CCS). AI technologies have the potential to help manage catalogues, forecast trends, support decision-making and assist with tedious tasks of content production and save time for more human creation.
In this context, the European Commission Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG Connect) and Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (DG EAC) commissioned Technopolis Group, together with its partners RISE, DTI and BOP Consulting to analyse challenges and opportunities.
The study explores existing and potential business opportunities (so called “use cases”) for AI in the CCS, and examines some of the new challenges that need to be addressed, taking into account the needs of each sector, and in particular the needs of small European players.
The concrete objectives of the study are the following:
- to identify technologies that are currently being used and/or will/can be deployed in the near future;
- to examine the challenges and opportunities that AI and related technologies raise for the promotion of, and access to, a culturally diverse offer of European works;
- to examine how AI can contribute to the growth, resilience and consolidation of Europe’s cultural and creative sectors;
- to recommend support measures with strong European added value to be implemented by the EU or by the sectors themselves.
The study is based on desk research, literature review, 66 interviews, three focus groups and a one-day workshop that took place on 30 September 2021 with over 100 attendees, including sectoral representatives and experts from the ten sectors.
The study provides recommendations to counter challenges in five areas, notably access to data, access to skills, transparency, collaborative ecosystems and access to finance,; taking into account the wide diversity of needs across sectors, including small players.
Among others, the study highlights the importance of data interoperability, calls on creative sectors to identify common goals and explore data standards, and recommends policymakers to foster knowledge exchange between tech startups and creative sectors.
The study does not cover copyright-related use cases nor an analysis of AI on copyright, as this is covered in another study, which was conducted in parallel.
Related initiatives
- EU policies on Artificial Intelligence
- EU policies on data
- AI4Media, part of the Networks of AI Excellence Centres and funded by Horizon 2020, is formed by academics and research centers focusing on advancing AI to serve media and making sure that the European values of ethical and trustworthy AI are embedded in future AI deployments.
- The Digital Europe work programme 2021-2022 includes support for skills, European Digital Innovation Hubs and the deployment of data spaces including a cultural heritage data space and a media data space (call for proposals foreseen in autumn 2022).
- The Creative Europe Innovation Lab supports ideas to design and test innovative digital solutions with a potential long-term impact on multiple cultural and creative sectors – more info in the call for proposals and the webinar on Thursday 21 April 2022 at 11h CET.