[BCMA] Inquiry: AI Use Policies

Fri Aug 28 19:44:09 UTC 2026

Hi Michael and BCMA Colleagues,
We are in the midst of developing an acceptable use policy for AI at Craigdarroch Castle Society and I am happy to share the direction of that work so far. The draft is intended to promote responsible, ethical, and secure use of AI tools within the Society, while recognizing the particular responsibilities museums have around collections information, cultural knowledge, visitor privacy, donor information and copyright. Public trust in the information shared by the Castle Society is very important to us, and we want to ensure that our use of AI serves to strengthen, not weaken, our reputation.
Our approach treats AI as an assistive tool, not an authoritative source or independent decision-maker. Acceptable uses we are considering include drafting and editing communications, reports, grant narratives, outreach materials, and internal templates; translating non-sensitive public materials; summarizing articles or sector research; brainstorming program, campaign, or volunteer-engagement ideas; supporting training and onboarding materials; and assisting with low-risk documentation or technical support where appropriate.
The boundaries are deliberately conservative. The draft policy prohibits entering or processing personal or sensitive data unless explicitly pre-approved. This includes personal information about staff, volunteers, donors, or visitors; financial information; legal documents; confidential board or strategic documents; unpublished or rights-restricted collections information; and other information that is not already public. It also prohibits using AI to make programmatic, financial, employment, eligibility, collections, or other consequential decisions without human review.
A key principle is that AI-generated outputs must be reviewed for factual accuracy, bias, and context before they are used. We are also flagging 'automation bias' (i.e. the tendency to treat AI-generated content as authoritative) as a risk that staff and volunteers need to understand.
Recognising that AI capabilities are evolving rapidly, our AI working group is now also looking at defining safeguards for ‘agentic’ AI tools (i.e. AI systems capable of autonomous decision-making and actions with minimal human intervention). These include active supervision, limiting access to the minimum systems and data required, preventing access to sensitive data unless clearly authorized, and ensuring that any agentic tool has clear human review options.
On the legal and ethical side, the policy will require AI use to comply with Canadian copyright, privacy, data protection, and human rights obligations, including consideration of PIPEDA, PIPA, and DRIPA. We will be publishing an AI ethics statement which focuses on transparency, accountability, respect for cultural heritage, visitor privacy, and alignment with the museum’s educational mission.
Practically, this means we are looking at requirements such as using only approved platforms and Society accounts; documenting when AI content has been produced; labelling AI-generated content where needed so it is not confused with human-created content; being transparent about any visitor-data collection; and reporting any outputs that raise legal, ethical, cultural, or reputational concerns.
We are still refining the policy draft, but the overall intent is to allow useful, low-risk applications of AI while explicitly committing to human judgement, integrity of collections, and privacy and security guardrails. There are a lot of things to consider!
Cheers,
Jenny Seeman.

On Monday, 24 August 2026 at 09:44:16 GMT-7, Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv via Listserv <listserv at lists.museum.bc.ca> wrote:

Good morning BCMA colleagues,

I hope this email finds you well.
I wanted to reach out today to inquire as to whether any of you have developed policies or procedures that relate to using and interacting with AI within your institutions?
There have been some discussions among staff and volunteers on the merits and pitfalls of using AI in research support, drafting policy templates etc.

Any insights or examples would be greatly appreciated!

Best,
Michael Goodchild

--
Michael Goodchild, BA, MMST.
Executive Director,
Sidney Museum & Archives
He/His

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We respectfully acknowledge the Sidney Museum & Archives has been shaped by the colonial history of Canada, and is located in Sidney/SETINES on the traditional territory of the W̱SÁNEĆ People, including the BOḰEĆEN (Pauquachin), SȾÁ,UTW̱ (Tsawout), MÁLEXEŁ (Malahat), W̱JOȽEȽP (Tsartlip) and W̱SÍḴEM (Tseycum) First Nations. We understand that territory acknowledgment is just one part of Reconciliation, and the museum continues to work towards other ways that we can participate in Reconciliation alongside Indigenous communities.
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Craigdarroch Castle
Jenny Seeman
Curator, Craigdarroch Castle
Phone: 250.592.5323
Website: www.thecastle.ca
Address:1050 Joan Crescent, Victoria, BC V8S 3L5

We gratefully acknowledge that we are here on the traditional territories of the Lekwungen people, also known as the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations.

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