Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality Convergence for Sustainable Cultural Heritage Management: An Exploratory Conceptual Model Based on Multi-Case Analysis

Fukun Cui, Gaukhar Kaldanovna Zhanibekova, Zhanat Zhussupova

2026

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DOI 10.3390/heritage9090358
Data confidence 70 medium
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Abstract

Cultural heritage faces escalating pressures from mass tourism, environmental degradation, and physical decay, yet existing scholarship predominantly examines Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Virtual Reality (VR) as separate tools rather than as an integrated systemic mechanism. This exploratory study investigates how their convergence can be conceptualized as a mechanism for sustainable heritage management. A qualitative multi-case design was employed, integrating system-structural analysis, comparative case analysis, and conceptual modeling across six cases: comprising four analytical AI-VR convergence cases (Digital Dunhuang, European Time Machine, Vryokastro, and Wat Sri Suphan Ubosot) and two standalone VR reference cases (Rome Reborn and Khiva). The analysis suggests a functional division: Virtual Reality constructs the immersive spatial foundation of experience, while Artificial Intelligence orchestrates adaptive narrative delivery and semantic structuring. Their convergence may generate value across educational, preservation, and economic dimensions. A conceptual model is proposed, formalising this mechanism through four transformation processes: immersive spatialisation, adaptive storytelling, temporal structuring, and interactive co-creation, with the latter two presented as testable propositions requiring further empirical investigation. The model is linked to SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and offers heritage practitioners a strategic thinking framework for considering digital approaches to cultural heritage management.