Artificial Intelligence and value co-creation in museums: promoting inclusion for people with disabilities.

The present study investigates the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to foster inclusive cultural value in Italian museums, focusing on addressing the physical, sensory and cognitive barriers encountered by visitors with disabilities. The research employed a multiple-case qualitative design, engaging more than twenty museums through a semi-structured online questionnaire administered to accessibility managers. The museums varied in governance, location, and thematic focus, but all were committed to accessibility. The findings demonstrate a robust theoretical understanding of AI's potential to personalise experiences. However, its practical implementation remains predominantly experimental, constrained by infrastructural limitations, organisational rigidity and financial constraints. A significant proportion of institutions engaging with AI, specifically 87.5%, reported incorporating co-design processes with individuals living with disabilities. This finding serves to emphasise the pivotal role that participatory approaches play in ensuring technological solutions are aligned with the needs of the end-users. From a governance perspective, the study posits that truly inclusive innovation necessitates a systemic strategy: museums must invest not only in technological infrastructure but also in interdisciplinary processes that facilitate collaboration among curators, technical specialists and disability-community representatives. Furthermore, the sustainable integration of AI tools necessitates a coordinated commitment across multiple institutional levels, encompassing individual museums, governmental bodies, and disability-rights organisations, to ensure the availability of adequate resources, expertise, and policy support. To strengthen the evidence base, it is recommended that future research should expand the empirical scope by testing the proposed framework on a larger, more diverse sample of cultural institutions and by conducting longitudinal studies to track the long-term impacts of AI-driven accessibility initiatives. The work under discussion here establishes the foundations for human-centred technological innovation that extends beyond the scope of pilot projects and integrates inclusivity as a fundamental element of museum practice.