Last week,on October 29th, I had quite the day, first exploring the intersection of digital games and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and then exploring AI and the future of museums.
First, I joined Games For Change’s Games & SDG Summit. The event — held on the top floor of the United Nations, overlooking the East River — brought together 180 thought leaders, decision makers, and policymakers from 130+ organizations, representing 15 countries, for a day of engaging discussions, hands-on working groups, and an interactive arcade centered around four key themes aligned with core UN Sustainable Development Goals. You can check out photos of the event on their Flickr page.
It was inspiring to hear how the gaming community and international countries & NGOs are working together to advance the SDGs. It was also wonderful to reconnect with many colleagues and friends from the gaming and education worlds.
Then, I headed home to join the 2024 Future of Museums Summit. The Summit grows out of Elizabeth Merritt’s work as the American Alliance of Museums’ Vice President for Strategic Foresight and Founding Director of the Center for the Future of Museums – a think-tank and research & development lab for the museum field.
After many years issuing their informative and provocative annual TrendsWatch reports, last year saw the print-form expand into a multi-day, online conference. I was excited to take part in offering an interactive sessions, to help the event bring in more than one learning modality.
I lead: “Shall We Play a Game? AI’s Role in the Future of Museums.” We invited participants to explore the integration of artificial intelligence into museum education through interactive and thought-provoking activities.
The session featured hands-on experiences like AI-powered games “Peanut Butter and…” and “Contexto.me” to illustrate AI’s content generation and contextual adaptation (we beat Contexto’s AI in 6 guesses!), along with my “Uncannny Valley” card game (pictured below) to examine visual literacy and the differences between human perception and AI modeling. Attendees also engaged in community mapping to collectively assess AI’s disruptive and transformative impact on museums. My goal was to offer practical insights and inspiration for museum professionals, educators, and tech enthusiasts interested in the future of cultural institutions in the AI era.
Overall, quite a lifting day, focused on working with others to build a better tomorrow.
Thank you so much for leading this great session at the Summit, Barry!
–Elizabeth