VIRTUAL London Heritages Conference

Abstract

This paper explores the growing entanglement of artificial intelligence (AI), robots, and avatars with the preservation of intangible cultural heritage, focusing on the contexts of Iran and China. As emerging technologies increasingly shape how cultural memory is recorded, performed, and transmitted, they simultaneously raise critical questions around authenticity, embodiment, and political control. Traditionally, the preservation of intangible heritage has relied on human-centered, embodied practices rooted in lived experience. The shift toward automation challenges these foundations and introduces new tensions. While Iran currently lacks widespread access to advanced robotics or AI for cultural documentation, there is a visible enthusiasm for adopting new technologies in heritage initiatives. Despite this interest, there remains a significant gap in scholarly discussion and critical evaluation of such technologies in the Iranian context. Drawing on a comparative framework, this paper examines China’s use of AI-driven avatars—such as XiaoIce—for cultural communication and education, highlighting how digital tools may be mobilized not only for preservation but also for ideological purposes. By analyzing how humanoid robots and AI avatars simulate rituals or embody traditional knowledge, the paper questions whether such practices preserve cultural meaning or merely replicate disembodied forms stripped of context. It further speculates on how similar technologies could be adopted in Iran, raising concerns about potential cultural homogenization and surveillance. Ultimately, this research emphasizes the need for a critical approach to technological heritage practices—one that interrogates who controls the narrative, what is preserved, and how culture is performed in increasingly automated futures.