Will technology be the death of art galleries and museums or their saviour?
We have to ensure that all of this is in service of the art. It doesn't replace the art and it doesn't overwhelm it.
That tension has been playing out throughout the art world as institutions grapple with how to stay relevant and accommodate a changing world.
As the first ever chief digital officer at the acclaimed Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Sree Sreenivasan is predictably aligned to the latter school of thought.
He prefers to espouse the 'opportunities' of technology, rather than the threats it presents to tradition.
'You have to acknowledge that the world has changed; people want to pull out their phones, people want to look at things with their friends,' says Sreenivasan.
'At the same time, we have to make sure that we are not losing the scholarship and scholarly nature of museums that makes the art worth celebrating and appreciating.'
What does the job entail exactly? A delicate balance, it would seem.
As chief digital officer, he is responsible for helping to extend the physical experience of enjoying and consuming art at the Met without compromising its integrity.
In real terms, that might mean adjudicating over which personal devices are permitted at the museum. Photos, for instance, are allowed but selfie sticks are banned.
'We think it is a danger to the art and other visitors. You could poke someone's eye out or poke a painting,' he says.
Sreenivasan, who this week is speaking at the REMIX Global Summit in Sydney, heads up a 70-strong digital media team at the Met.
They send out countless emails, social media posts, videos and develop online support material through the Met's website.
It's telling then that while six million people come to the museum each year, there are 29 million visits to the site, and the museum has 92 million person reach on Facebook.
'I was talking to the senior staff at Facebook, and they are working on making sure there is more culture represented, more art represented. Otherwise, it's mostly just your friends' things and then the news,' says Sreenivasan.
'There are more 5.2 billion cell phones in the world. How are we going to make sure that our content and what we are doing is visible and easily accessible in that format?'
Naturally, those endeavours mean breaking through certain long-established traditions.
'We find a lot of technology folks are clashing with the scholars and experts in institutions,' says Sreenivasan. 'Instead, the point is to say "let's work together" and increase access without reducing scholarship.'
Seeing a picture of Uluru or the Sydney Opera House online doesn't stop people wanting to visit, posits Sreenivasan, and the same applies to museums.
He does, however, concede that it all comes back to balance.
'We have to ensure that all of this is in service of the art. It doesn't replace the art and it doesn't overwhelm it,' he says.
'There is something so magical about having someone standing in a gallery with a painting or a sculpture, and we never want that experience to be ruined.'
Sreenivasan, who served as a journalism professor at Columbia University for 21 years, stands at the vanguard of this collision between art and technology.
Yet he thinks with a more technologically-adept generation coming up behind him, his role could soon be unnecessary.
'I think the role of chief digital officer is temporary,' he says. 'As the CEOs themselves grow up in the system, they will be digitally savvy.
'They will always need a chief financial officer, a chief marketing or technology officer, but they won't always need a chief digital officer.
'I hope not for a long time though, because I still need to work.'
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