Chatbot. Un giorno, al museo

A Chatbot is a textual or vocal conversational system based on Artificial Intelligence (Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning). Chatbot can understand, analyse and generate human language. Michael Mauldin coined the word “ChatterBot” in 1994. Direct ancestors are ELIZA and PARRY, developed in the USA during the 60s and 70s. In recent years, due to higher performances both of Information Technology and artificial languages, it has been possible to improve chatbots systems. In particular, this article focuses on theuse of chatbots in museums, archives and libraries (in Italian: MAB). Case studies are here offered: House Museums of Milan; MAXXI Museum in Rome; Field Museum in Chicago; ICCU, Europeana). Gamification and virtual guides are the most common applications in the area of chatbot systems. The aim is to enhance the experience of the fruition of a permanent collection or of an exibition. Exactly one hundred years after the birth of the word “robot”, chatbots are part of our everyday life. And yet, questions and problems remain about the limitand boundaries between human and non-human, between “the human use of human beings” and “man-computer symbiosis”.