Nagaland university team proposes AI framework for heritage preservation

Lumami, Nagaland – Researchers from Nagaland University and partner institutions across Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka presented a framework to evaluate how artificial intelligence can aid the preservation of India’s cultural heritage, EastMojo reported.

Proposed AI framework

The study, published in the open-access journal Acta Innovations, identifies nine parameters for assessing AI applications: digitisation accuracy, text recognition, classification, translation, visual reconstruction, descriptive information, cultural context, accessibility and ethics. The framework blends technical assessment with input from subject-matter experts and the communities whose heritage is being documented. It aims to ensure that AI-generated outputs are not only technically sound but also culturally appropriate.

Expert views

Prof. Jagadish K Patnaik, Vice-Chancellor of Nagaland University, said the collaborative research reflected the growing potential of artificial intelligence in safeguarding India’s diverse cultural heritage. He added, "integrating AI into the preservation of manuscripts, endangered languages, oral traditions and historical records could open new avenues for documenting and transmitting valuable cultural knowledge to future generations." Patnaik also emphasized that any technological intervention must respect cultural contexts, community rights and ethical considerations.

Prof. Ravi Ranjan Kumar, who led the research from the Hindi Department at Nagaland University, highlighted the study’s effort to establish measurable parameters for evaluating AI-assisted preservation. He warned that technical accuracy does not automatically ensure cultural accuracy, noting that AI may transcribe a document correctly yet miss historical references, cultural nuances or the significance of a tradition. Kumar stressed the need for expert verification and community consultation, especially for less-commonly used languages, unfamiliar scripts, damaged manuscripts and oral histories.

Potential applications and challenges

The researchers listed several AI-driven uses, such as making historical documents searchable, organising photographic and artwork collections, detecting damage to heritage objects, transcribing oral recordings, translating multilingual material and creating digital maps and three-dimensional models of heritage sites. They also examined AI’s role in preserving archaeological and architectural heritage, folklore, community knowledge, printed and handwritten documents, photographs, oral histories and endangered languages.

A key distinction made by the team is between restoration—preserving or recovering existing material—and reconstruction, which may involve computational methods to infer missing information. The authors recommend retaining original digital records, documenting every AI-generated alteration and clearly marking areas of uncertainty to help future users differentiate original evidence from computer-generated interpretations.

The framework calls for safeguards concerning data ownership, privacy, access and community participation. The researchers argue that communities whose languages and traditions are being documented must have a say in how the material is recorded, interpreted, stored and shared.

While the study points to particular relevance for India’s Northeast—where many indigenous languages and oral traditions face documentation challenges—it also acknowledges unresolved issues. These include AI reliability with damaged manuscripts, recognition of less-common scripts, and the capacity of communities to validate AI-generated translations and descriptions. The authors propose piloting the framework across varied collections, scripts and dialects to assess practical effectiveness, document recognition errors, incorporate expert and community feedback, and determine suitability of AI outputs for intended purposes.

The research was co-authored by scholars from Nagaland University, Vellalar College for Women (Tamil Nadu), University of Delhi, ABES Engineering College (Ghaziabad), institutions in Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Joy University (Tamil Nadu).