Welcome to AI Genealogy Insights, where we explore how artificial intelligence can assist genealogists and family history researchers, with a particular focus on:
- discovering the advantages and limitations of AI,
- and how genealogists can apply this knowledge.
As someone with training and a background in applied linguistics (natural language processing and computation linguistics–foundations of artificial intelligence), language and literature, computers and programming, writing and storytelling, and genealogy and family history, I am passionate about combining these interests to enhance genealogical research and discovery.
My focus has locked onto the fascinating world of artificial intelligence and its applications in the field of genealogy. Here, you’ll find discussions on what AI is, what genealogists need to know about the current state of AI-assisted genealogy, what currently are good applications of AI genealogy and what are not, how to leverage AI to be more productive, what AI genealogy developments may be coming soon, where useful AI tools and services can be found, and explorations as the limits and boundaries of what is possible with AI genealogy are expanded.
I invite you to explore the site and engage with the ideas presented, as we embark on this exciting journey of harnessing the power of AI to uncover the rich tapestry of our family histories and how we can do more with AI genealogy. There are two areas of the site in which you might begin exploring: Use Case Guides and/or Blog Posts.
The Use Case Guides walk users step-by-step through currently working and proven AI-assisted genealogical tasks. AI Genealogy is a fact-based research and reporting discipline. Yet the large language models powering today’s artificial intelligence (AI) systems are weak with facts though great with words. Their weakness with facts and research, however, hardly renders them useless to genealogists. Knowing the benefits and limits of artificial intelligence empowers genealogists today and helps us recognize breakthroughs tomorrow. The use cases here illustrate how researchers are successfully using AI Genealogy today.
Another place to begin is by reading a Blog Post that is of interest to you. Blog post topics are more wide-ranging, and may include: AI Genealogy industry news and commentary; recommendations for books, tutorials, podcasts, video, and the like; AI Genealogy Tips and Tricks; and both upcoming and speculative AI Genealogy Use Cases. Blog posts written before April 7, 2023, were originally published on my family history site, Ashe Ancestors. I will continue to post about family history there, but my AI Genealogy research and writing will be shared here.