The project is a first experiment and glimpse into the possibilities of individualising content in museums by using AI. Museums are more than places for sharing knowledge. They are social spaces for connection and community-building. But visitor expectations have changed. People seek more personalised, self-directed experiences. How could we make cultural content more accessible and more relevant? What new interaction patterns become possible, and how could we create individual layers of depth, new forms of knowledge sharing and exchange?
Every visitor walking through the door brings something different. The standard audio guide doesn't know any of that. Here we imagine what happens if it did. This project started as my own exploration alongside Knowledge in Place, a 2025 studio course at weißensee school of art and design in cooperation with the Klassik Stiftung Weimar. In 2026, I finally found the time to build a first prototype called A Thousand Goethes.
A Thousand Goethes
A Thousand Goethes is the first instance of every visitor, a prototype for generating personalised audio guides for Goethe's house in Weimar. Based on the existing text template, it creates an individual version for each visitor, adjusted for their language, age, desired length, and personal interests.
Each visitor answers a few questions on their phone before entering. They choose which rooms they want to hear about, how much time they want to spend, their language, and the topics that interest them most, from architecture and daily life to Goethe's writing, his family, or the natural sciences. A slider sets their age group, which shifts the vocabulary and tone accordingly. Beyond the structured options, two open fields let visitors add their mood or anything else the categories don't capture, a single word, a sentence, or nothing at all. The more a visitor puts in, the more specifically the guide can speak to them.
It is a basic prototype, a first glimpse, not a finished product. The current version is still relatively linear: a visitor enters their preferences before the visit and receives a personalised guide. The real next step toward interactivity would be to deepen this on the spot, following where your thoughts lead during the tour, responding to what you see in the room, or moving toward something more like a conversation.
--> A Thousand Goethes prototype
The original audio guides for Goethe's house are available at klassik-stiftung.de.
Technical description
A small web interface collects visitor preferences: language, age, desired audio length, and areas of interest. These parameters, together with the original German source text, are passed to a local AI model (most likely an open-source model in the 37B–120B range) which rewrites the audio guide accordingly.
A second model then evaluates the output against the original content and the given parameters. The result goes through several correction rounds before the final text is approved. The finished text is then converted to an audio file via a text-to-speech solution.
This is an imperfect exploration, a prototype and still in development.
--> A Thousand Goethes prototype
Example guides
Three outputs generated by the prototype for different visitor profiles (same source material, adapted for language, age, room and interests).
Schau, du stehst im Innenhof (großer Hof mitten im Haus)! Hier lebte Goethe fast fünfzig Jahre bis 1832. Zuerst war er nur Mieter (jemand, der nur mietet). 1792 kaufte Herzog (Herrscher eines kleinen Landes) das Haus für ihn. Er schenkte Goethe das Haus dank seiner Arbeit. Jetzt durfte er das barocke (schöne alte) Gebäude umbauen.
Er ließ eine Brücke (Brettweg) im Obergeschoss (obere Etage) bauen. Das Brückenzimmer verbindet das Vorderhaus (öffentliche Räume) mit dem Hinterhaus (private Zimmer). Der Innenhof zeigt diese wichtige Veränderung. Heute sehen wir die Räume fast so, wie sie 1832 aussahen. Die Farben und Nutzen wechselten oft, aber das Aussehen blieb.
Im Erdgeschoss (unteres Stockwerk) waren Küche, Holz- und Kohlenlager, Toiletten und Stall. Nur ganz hinten bleibt die Remise (Stellplatz für Kutsche, Pferdewagen) erhalten. Kannst du die alte Kutsche dort sehen? Stell dir vor, Goethe ging hier jeden Tag vorbei. Vielleicht hast du zu Hause einen ähnlichen Hof wie diesen?
If you first entered this room thirty years ago, you may recall the quiet that still lingers. The study of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is the most significant room in this house. Almost everything remains as it was on 22 March 1832, the day Goethe died in the small bedroom beside it. The walls are painted green because, according to Goethe's colour theory (the study of how colours affect the mind), green gives the eye genuine satisfaction. He chose this hue for the room he used most often.
Goethe's most productive hours were in the morning. In the study he dictated his thoughts to his scribe John and to other assistants, while he often walked around the large desk placed in the centre of the room. It was here that he completed his later masterpieces, including the second part of Faust; the manuscript is still stored in the book‑case on the right side.
He preferred simple and functional furniture. He believed that a setting of comfortable, tasteful furniture lifts the mind and puts him into a calm, receptive state. Consequently, the walls bear no paintings, only practical items. On the left‑hand standing desk you will see the instruments he used for his natural‑science investigations (studies of nature). Notice also the cushion on the large desk, which supported his arms while he read for long periods.
Goethes arbetsrum är husets mest betydelsefulla rum. Här ser du nästan exakt samma inredning som den 22 mars 1832, då Goethe avled i det angränsande lilla sovrummet. Väggarna är målade gröna – enligt Goethes färglära ger grönt ögat verklig tillfredsställelse, och han valde därför färgen för rummet han tillbringade mest tid i.
Morgonstunden var hans mest produktiva tid. I studiet dikterade han till sin skrivare John och till andra medarbetare, ofta promenerande runt det stora skrivbordet i rummets mitt i flera timmar. Det var här han färdigställde sina stora sena verk, bland annat den andra delen av Faust, vars manuskript han placerade i bokskåpet till höger.
Goethe föredrog enkla, funktionella möbler: "En omgivning av bekväma, smakfulla möbler lyfter mitt tänkande och för mig in i ett passivt tillstånd." Därför saknas konstverk på väggarna; istället finns praktiska föremål. På den vänstra ståbordet låg material för hans naturvetenskapliga studier. Lägg märke till kudden på det stora skrivbordet – den stödde hans armar när han läste under längre perioder.
The audio above was generated with ElevenLabs. ElevenLabs is currently disabled in the running prototype due to resource constraints on my end. The prototype uses a simpler text-to-speech engine instead, just enough to get a feel for the concept.
The original audio guides for Goethe's house are available at klassik-stiftung.de.
Try the prototype. --> A Thousand Goethes