Unique Features of the Person Class in Cultural Heritage Models

Knowledge organizations systems (KOSs) model important entities of interest within a domain. In the cultural heritage domain, KOSs are often designed around cultural information resources, though many other kinds of entities must be modeled and described in the process. Of these, the “person” entity may appear straightforward, but is surprisingly challenging with complex implications. Within cultural heritage, personhood is closely associated with certain kinds of creative responsibilities and rights, though modern technological advances are challenging these traditional notions. In an era marked by AI creators, digital recreations of the dead, and deepfakes, it is worth asking, in cultural heritage, what is and is not a person?