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Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being increasingly used in heritage contexts. Different types of AI can be used, for example, as tools for heritage research and management, including for the reconstruction of heritage sites and artefacts. While the benefits and challenges of AI for heritage is being currently explored by various disciplines, for example in digital humanities and computer science, there is still a gap as regards the legal challenges arising from such practices, particularly relating to intellectual property (IP) rights. Discussions and consultations are taking place in various countries on approaches to the regulation of AI and copyright. However, these debates focus mostly on creative and technology industries, with the specific concerns, needs and applications in the cultural heritage sector being insufficiently considered. Importantly, the role that copyright law and practice may have in issues such as bias and digital cultural colonialism are not being sufficiently addressed. This presentation will advocate for the need to approach the AI regulation discussions from a heritage perspective, arguing that the human rights discipline, and in particular cultural rights, offer important mechanisms for the development of policies and for the recalibration of legislations such as copyright to responsibly address the use of AI in heritage contexts. This approach will help achieve the appropriate balance between the values at stake i.e. protecting core interests of creators and communities, and promoting preservation and access to culture in a responsible and ethical manner, including by addressing bias and decolonial concerns.

Dr Paula Westenberger is a Senior Lecturer in Intellectual Property Law and a member of the Centre for AI at Brunel University of London. She is a BRAID (Bridging Responsible AI Divides, UKRI/AHRC funded) Research Fellow, leading the project ‘Responsible AI for Heritage: copyright and human rights perspectives’, in partnership with Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Paula holds an LLB from PUC-Rio (Brasil), an LLM and PhD in Intellectual Property Law from Queen Mary University of London, and a Postgraduate Certificate in Curating and Collections Management from Birkbeck. She is Deputy Editor of the European Copyright and Design Reports (ECDR) and founder and coordinator of the Heritage AI and Law (HAIL) Network. Her research covers the intersection between copyright law, human rights and culture, with a current particular focus on the use of AI in the cultural heritage sector. Her forthcoming (2025, European Journal of Cultural Management and Policy) co-authored paper is titled Artificial Intelligence for Cultural Heritage Research: the Challenges in UK Copyright Law and Policy. She is a Brazilian qualified lawyer, with experience in IP law.