A conversational agent to enrich the MNBAQ experience

2024-02-29 19:16:35

For some time now, the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (MNABQ) has set up a conversational agent for 10 works, notably thanks to artificial intelligence. This digital device makes it possible to rethink the museum experience for visitors and offer them a complementary tool.

The National Museum of Fine Arts of Quebec developed in 2022 the first version of the chatbotfollowed by a first project in early 2023.

“With the advent of ChatGPT, we were able to use generative intelligence and everything changed,” reveals Marie-Hélène Raymond, digital strategy coordinator at the Musée national des beaux-arts de Québec.

“There, we no longer had to imagine all the questions and possible answers. »

As with any innovation project, the museum had to adapt to the evolution of technology.

The testing phase extends throughout the spring.

“A complementary tool”

For the Museum, the conversational agent is not here to replace the role of a guide.

“Guided tours will continue to exist,” says Ms. Raymond.

According to her, this device is a complementary tool for visitors.

“For example, if there is no guided tour at the desired time or if you are embarrassed about asking questions in a group, the system presents itself as an option,” explains She.

Attention span has evolved since the implementation of this digital device.

“On average, people spend between 3 and 15 seconds in front of a work. With user testing done, people stay there a lot longer now,” she observes.

In practice

For the moment, the prototype has been expanded to ten works in the MNBAQ collection rooms.

The conversational agent is not limited to simple questions and answers.

“It is possible to talk about your emotions. The device can make connections between what we feel and information about the work,” explains Ms. Raymond.

Concretely, a pictogram is each time indicated next to each work. A code must be scanned with your cell phone.

The conversational agent developed by MNAB can be considered as a complementary tool for visitors.
Photo credit: Courtesy MNABQ, Louis Hébert

“A splash page will open. All you have to do is take a photo of the work so that the chatbot recognizes her. The latter offers a first text,” she explains.

After that, you can ask any questions you want or your feelings, either orally like a voice message, or by writing directly.

The choice of works to select

Finally, the selection of works was made based on the location of the rooms, but not only.

We find there The Raft of the Medusa, of Adad Hannah, and the Unicorn Rooster by Jean Dallaire, among others.

“These are especially works for which we have a lot of information. The work files are complete and we know things about the artist,” she mentions.

“The more we feed the model, the more it is able to tell us things about the work in question. »

“The MNABQ chatbot is not open to the World Wide Web like ChatGPT. We don’t want our device to make errors or to search on a website not approved by the museum,” she adds.

In other words, the contents of the device therefore remain authentic.

In the future, the Museum plans to expand the conversational agent to other works.

“We will deploy it later in the rooms higher up for decorative art and Inuit art and for ten new works. We will surely do it also for The tribute to Rosa Luxembourg “, she confides.

“This device is so easy to access. We can approach a work in all the ways that meet our needs and our knowledge. This allows you to have a completely different and, above all, personalized approach to the work,” summarizes Marie-Hélène Raymond.

This article was produced by Anne Charlotte Gillain, journalist fromLocal Journalism Initiative.