Accenture Labs, through its Tech4Good initiative, combined advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) with human-centered design to create India’s first conversational digital persona to help visitors have a more engaging experience. Visitors to the museum will be able to have a lifelike conversation with the persona.

To create the digital persona, Accenture Labs used techniques such as face superimposition and speech synthesis, which are based on deep learning and generative AI models. Natural language understanding, natural language processing and emotion detection technologies help ensure the conversation between the user and the persona is lifelike, and enable the digital persona to be as responsive, expressive, proactive and adaptive as a real person would be. 

Abhishek Poddar, founder-trustee, Museum of Art & Photography said, “One of our objectives is to create a museum-going culture that engages younger generations, as we have much to learn from our shared histories. A great way for museums to accomplish this is to harness technology to create engaging interactions that enable the user to learn something new and have fun in the process. We are confident that the collaboration between Accenture and MAP will create memorable experiences.”

Rekha M. Menon, chairperson and senior managing director, Accenture in India, added: “The future needs creative thinkers—people who can reimagine and reinvent. Creative arts foster plurality of thought, helping people approach real-world problems in a more holistic manner. We are excited to team with a cultural institution like MAP and use our market-leading digital capabilities to broaden the appeal of visual arts among today’s digital native youth.”

The Museum of Art and Photography will launch a digital version of the museum in December 2020 and its flagship physical space in 2021.