Technology Trends – American Alliance of Museums

The Connected Museum of 2040

By Elizabeth Merritt

I hope you’ve had a chance to read your print copy of Museum 2040, or to download a digital copy. If you’re a little confused about why the magazine is set in the future, read my introduction to this special issue. As I noted in that …
The Future of Ownership

By Elizabeth Merritt

When it comes to collecting, museums are at the very end of a long chain of decisions. Before that new acquisition comes under the registrar’s pen, someone had to create an object, purchase or collect it, enabling it to eventually wend its …
Futurist Friday: Curating the Hereafter

By Elizabeth Merritt

I have a special place in my heart for museums that help their audiences explore the future. The latest addition to my collection: the Hereafter Institute, a fictitious company created by Gabriel Barcia-Colombo, recipient of a 201 LACMA …
Futurist Friday: Empathetic AI

By Elizabeth Merritt

Whenever a new technology starts to take off (drones, 3D printing, Virtual Reality), the initial breathless coverage in the press is inevitably followed by articles deriding the trivial applications of these advances. We’re deluged …
The Future of Museums (According to One Woman)

By Elizabeth Merritt

I was delighted to be interviewed for an issue of MISC Journal devoted to The Future According to Women. As the introduction notes, “The future we read about is made up of recycled bits of interviews curated from the minds of a few great …
And the 2016 MUSE Awards Go To…

By Elizabeth Merritt

My biggest frustration at the annual meeting is that I can’t be everywhere at once (at least, not until we master cloning). I rely on a host of correspondents to fill me in on the great events I miss. This week Dacia Massengill, …
What Museums Can Learn from the NYT’s Google Cardboard Project

By Elizabeth Merritt

Lookie what I found bundled in with my Sunday newspaper: It’s a free Google Cardboard device from the New York Times. I promptly downloaded the app and started watching the 3-D, immersive short films they have already released: a profile …
Futurist Friday: My Mind to Your Mind

By Elizabeth Merritt

While we are not ready for the Vulcan Mind Meld (yet), researchers are already making great leaps in brain-to-computer interfaces. Now scientists are beginning to play with brain-to-brain communications. Recent experiments include: fitting …
Monday Musing: Up Periscope

By Elizabeth Merritt

The week before last I took a tour of the British Museum’s “Defining Beauty” exhibit, hosted by historian Dan Snow (who has a gorgeously plummy accent. Bonus). I did this while pacing the corridors of AAM, channeling Dan …
Finally Beyond the Hype? Simulcasting Experiences and Virtual Reality

By Elizabeth Merritt

I hope you’ve had a chance to look at TrendsWatch 2015 (download your copy here.) In coming months, a host of guest bloggers will explore each theme in more depth. First up, CFM Council member Garry Golden, a professional futurist who …