AI Literacy

• News
  • ChatGPT plugin: Photo Whisperer https://chatgpt.com/g/g-69041cf33c14819183ab56b883f9dc5d-photo-whisperer-ai-genealogy-lab
  • Ethics in genealogy: https://andrewredfern.com/continuum-ai-use-family-history/

• AI Literacy
  • Leo Lo defines AI Literacy as “the ability to understand, use, and think critically about AI technologies and their impact on society, ethics, and everyday life. Its components include technical knowledge, ethical awareness, critical thinking, and practical skills.”
  • McGill University has ROBOT model:
    • Reliability
    • Objective
    • Bias
    • Ownership
    • Type
  • Information literacy has the CRAAP test:
    • Currency
    • Relevance
    • Authority
    • Accuracy
    • Purpose

• Coalition for Responsible AI in Genealogy (CRAIGEN)
  • New statement on “Protecting Trust in Historical Images”
  • Guidelines
    • Always label
    • Always cite
    • Use as illustration, not evidence

• Resources
  • The Family History AI Show, by Mark Thompson & Steve Little
  • Genealogy and Artificial Intelligence Facebook Group
  • Legacy Family Tree Webinars
  • Leo Lo: https://crln.acrl.org/index.php/crlnews/article/view/26704/34626
  • McGill Libraries: https://libraryguides.mcgill.ca/ai/literacy
  • CRAIGEN: https://craigen.org/protecting-trust-in-historical-images/
  • Emily Jaeger-McEnroe (CRAAP test): https://crln.acrl.org/index.php/crlnews/article/view/26634/34553

Wheatley, A & Hervieux, S. (2020). The AI family tree [diagram]. The LibrAIry. https://thelibrairy.wordpress.com/2020/05/12/the-ai-family-tree/

3 Cool Tools

• News
  • Google latest report on AI water use https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/infrastructure/measuring-the-environmental-impact-of-ai-inference

• RootsMagic 11
  • New version has first ‘draft’ of AI features for stand along genealogy software
  • AI Prompt Builder – uses data in your RootsMagic tree to write a custom AI prompt to copy to ChapGPT, etc.
  • Note – it doesn’t request research

• FamilySearch Full Text Search
  • Has moved out of labs
  • Find in Search menu in main website
  • New features:
    • AI-generated summaries of records, including names and relationships.
    • Search fields for year, place, and image group number (DGS).
    • Almost 2 billion records from various countries and languages.
    • Ability to search by specific collections, which are grouped using digitization metadata.
    • Automatic translation of record summaries into your preferred language.

• Perplexity Comet
  • LLM built into the Chrome web browser.  The future of AI?  
  • Can remember and compare things across multiple tabs – not just things entered in the chat interface
  • Can, if you let it, access your google email and calendar.
  • Can automate tasks
  • Can ‘use’ your browser – open tabs, click items, fill out forms

• Resources
  • The Family History AI Show, by Mark Thompson & Steve Little
  • Genealogy and Artificial Intelligence Facebook Group
  • Legacy Family Tree Webinars

Generating Images with AI

• Why Images Matter in Genealogy
  • Genealogy often lacks photographs of earlier generations.
  • AI-generated visuals help illustrate stories where no images exist.
  • Engages younger family members and makes history feel more relatable.
• Why Images Matter in Genealogy
  • Genealogy often lacks photographs of earlier generations.
  • AI-generated visuals help illustrate stories where no images exist.
  • Engages younger family members and makes history feel more relatable.
• Applications
  • Storytelling: Pair AI illustrations with written family histories.
  • Family History Books: Fill in gaps when photos don’t exist.
  • Reunion Displays: Create immersive posters or slideshows.
  • Youth Engagement: Use AI visuals to spark curiosity in younger relatives.
  • Genealogy Society Presentations: Illustrate local history or migration stories.
• AI Image Generators
  • DALL·E (via ChatGPT), MidJourney, Stable Diffusion, Adobe Firefly, Google Gemini, Canva, Leonardo AI
• Prompt Writing Tips
  • Be specific: time period, clothing, setting, mood.
  • Example: “Create an image of a 19th-century Swedish farm family standing outside their wooden home, midsummer celebration.”
  • Try multiple prompts, adjust style, compare results.
  • Consider choosing artistic vs. realistic styles depending on project.
  • Try imageprompt.org

• Ethical and Practical Considerations
  • Historical Accuracy vs. Artistic Imagination
  • AI portraits are representations, not authentic likenesses.
  • Scenes may capture “the feel” of an era, not exact details.
• Transparency
  • Always label images as AI-generated.
  • Use captions like “AI-generated illustration of…”.
• Avoiding Misrepresentation
  • Don’t pass off AI images as real historical evidence.
• Copyright & Usage Rights
  • Most tools allow personal/family history use, but check terms before publishing widely.