AI is expected to revitalise the metaverse concept by providing more efficient ways to generate meaningful content. Whilst creative industries have valid concerns about evolving interpretations of copyright, only large organisations are likely to have the resources to defend their intellectual property within the emerging legal framework.

The key question remains: what form of digital content delivery will best serve the heritage sector, rather than primarily benefiting corporate providers?

The recent emergence of Small Language Models presents a viable alternative to corporate metaverse platforms. Institutions and heritage organisations could feasibly develop bespoke Generative AI and 3D services for their clients, allowing them to retain greater control over interpretation and the authenticity of digital records. This in turn, enables organisations to establish quality differentiators for their online services.

Digital image records comprise two key components, the image itself and the metadata detailing how the data was collected and curated. A third category has been proposed, image paradata, which provides contextual information to aid historians and archivists with their interpretation of digital images. Paradata can tell the story of the image, offering a richer and more engaging description for the reader. The draft IIIF 3D standard now supports image paradata.

Crucially, paradata can be embedded within AI content without directly exposing the source material, providing a partial safeguard against unauthorised online scraping. New smartphone-based frameworks, such as Hexology, are beginning to integrate paradata into heritage content. Statues, for example, could be linked to generative AI, allowing historical figures to ‘converse’ directly with viewers on topics of their choosing. Users could also form interest groups, adding relevant paradata that would be processed by the local AI services.

These innovations are now within reach, both in terms of skills and budgets, making them a realistic option for the heritage sector.