OpenAI Creates a Custom AI Bot Inspired by the 1930s for Met Gala Exhibition

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is making history with its latest exhibition featuring a 94-year-old wedding dress transformed into an interactive experience using artificial intelligence. The dress, worn by New York socialite Natalie Potter in 1930, is the centerpiece of the museum’s annual Costume Institute exhibition, focusing on delicate garments that can no longer be worn.

Visitors to the exhibition can now interact with a custom chatbot created by OpenAI, modeled after Potter’s personality. The AI bot can answer questions about Potter’s wedding, her life, and the dress itself, providing a unique and immersive experience for museum-goers.

This collaboration between the Met and OpenAI marks the first AI-aided exhibit at the museum, with director Max Hollein seeing it as a pilot program to explore the potential of AI in the art world. The chatbot was trained on letters, newspaper articles, and documents from Potter’s time, bringing her persona to life for visitors to engage with.

However, as AI technology continues to advance, concerns about its use in creative industries have been raised. OpenAI has faced lawsuits from authors and musicians who claim their work was used without consent to train AI models. The company has emphasized using publicly available and licensed data for training purposes, but the debate over AI’s impact on intellectual property rights continues.

Despite the controversy, the collaboration between the Met and OpenAI demonstrates the potential for AI to enhance the museum experience and bring historical artifacts to life in new and innovative ways.