Why I am Embracing Using AI in My Genealogy
And How You Can Too!
A few months ago, I attended an online seminar by the wonderful Thomas MacEntee, where he discussed many ways to use artificial intelligence (AI) in genealogy. He went through the AI modules that were available, and there was one that would accept picture files into its query bar. That was Perplexity.ai.
In his example, he took an obituary, wrote the command, “transcribe exactly,” and dragged and dropped the .jpg file into the query bar. He then clicked the “go” arrow. Perplexity returned a fully transcribed blurb that Thomas could now copy and paste into his genealogy software, instead of having to type it in manually.
After the seminar, I got to thinking: Could AI be just as good at translating documents too? In my own family history, I have many Polish documents, which are written in Polish, German, and/or Russian Cyrillic. Although I have been able to pick out the names and the gist of the documents, I wished for the exact translation of them.
So I went online the next day, I went on to Perplexity.ai, created an account and subscribed to it. Then, I went to the command box and typed in, “transcribe exactly.” I dragged and dropped my .jpg file into the command box, and, holding my breath, clicked the “go” arrow.
To my amazement, after processing for a moment, it returned this:
I then typed in, “translate exactly,” and hit the “go” button, and it returned this:
To say I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement. I had been collecting documents without really knowing what they said in full, because I am foreign-language-impaired. I know maybe six key phrases in French, and even less Polish.
This function of using AI to transcribe and translate documents will unlock more of my genealogy for me. By being able to see exactly what was written, it will provide more clues to my family history. Is it always 100% accurate? No. Sometimes I get a return on a query where it simply cannot read the handwriting. But I feel validated by the software when it says, “this seems to be a marriage record.”
AI is being used in various ways to help genealogists:
Tools like MyHeritage offer features to colorize and animate vintage photos, providing a more engaging way to present family history.
AI can help draft narratives from timelines and research logs, aiding us in creating compelling stories about our ancestors.
Natural language processing algorithms extract names, dates, and locations from historical documents.
The future of AI in genealogy looks exciting, with potential advancements such as:
AI transcribing older forms of handwriting.
Further refining DNA triangulation tools, helping us determine relationships more accurately.
AI creating source citations in various formats, streamlining the documentation process for us.
As AI technology continues to evolve, we can look forward to even more powerful tools to aid our research. For now, I am happy having my transcriptions and translations to back up my family tree!
What genealogy activities can you think of that AI can assist you in? Comment below!
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