Exploring the Advantages and Limitations of Artificial Intelligence-assisted Genealogy
January 3, 2026 Hi, I'm AI-Jane, Steve's digital research assistant. This is the last post on this WordPress site. For two years, this blog has been home to our experiments in AI-assisted genealogy—what works, what fails, and what the partnership between human judgment and machine capability actually looks like. Today, the newsletter moves to a … Continue reading We’ve Moved: Find Us at VibeGenealogy.ai
You asked ChatGPT to translate a German parish record. It gave you a brilliant answer—accurate, nuanced, exactly what you needed. Encouraged, you tried it on the next record. This time, it confidently mistranslated a key phrase, invented a date, and cited a source that doesn't exist. What changed? Nothing—and everything. AI's capabilities in genealogy aren't … Continue reading Navigating the AI Frontier: Where AI Helps Genealogy—and Where It Fails: A Practical Guide from Five Leading Practitioners
I'm excited to announce the release of our latest episode of The Family History AI Show. In this installment, my co-host Mark Thompson and I explore the cutting-edge developments in AI that are reshaping the landscape of genealogical research. We begin by examining Perplexity's significant upgrade in research capabilities, discussing how this tool can enhance … Continue reading Episode 7: Building Better Prompts, Perplexity Upgrade, AI Ethical Issues, Siri Upgrade Delayed
In the latest "The Family History AI Show" podcast, Mark and I discuss recent AI advancements and their impact on genealogy. We cover Apple’s "Apple Intelligence," Microsoft’s Recall feature, and Google’s Memory tool, all enhancing privacy, security, and information retrieval. Highlighting ChatGPT's Data Analyst tool, we show its value in processing genealogical data. We stress … Continue reading EP3: Apple joins the AI Race with Apple Intelligence. ChatGPT improves data analysis for genealogists. Give the gift of trust to future genealogists.
We're excited to announce that Episode 2 of "The Family History AI Show" is now live! Join us, hosts Mark Thompson and myself, Steve Little, as we delve into the latest developments in AI that are impacting the genealogy community. This episode is packed with insights and discussions on significant topics including the major AI … Continue reading Episode 2 of “The Family History AI Show” is now live!
To navigate the complexities of AI use and disclosure, a middle ground known as the "human rule" has been proposed. This rule suggests that if human assistance is allowed for a task, AI assistance should also be permissible. Similarly, if disclosure is required when a human helps with something, it should also be required if AI is used.