Using Artificial Intelligence in Genealogy
If you follow me on Facebook, you’ve probably noticed that I’ve fallen in love with generating Artificial Intelligence (AI) art. I’m also embracing AI in my genealogy work as well as my broader life! This technology really started becoming possible less than a year ago in December 2022. My journey began a short time later.
So, what have I experimented with so far, how has it been helpful, and what concerns have arisen?
March 2023
I first tried the free version of ChatGPT in March. At that point, I was trying to use it more like Google; I wasn’t impressed. At the time, I didn’t realize that it wasn’t interacting with the live internet so was frustrated that it couldn’t help with more recent events.
May 2023
By May I had watched a few YouTube videos where they showed how to use it to make plans to learn something. So, besides using it like Google, I also asked for how to learn Spanish at home, learn to be a better artist, and tips for improving my pinball game. Asking for ideas on how to learn something is one of ChatGPT’s strengths! For example, it suggested I do the following (with greater detail) to be a better pinball player:
1. Practice
2. Focus on ball control
3. Study the game
4. Develop a consistent technique
5. Stay calm & focused
6. Watch and learn from other players
7. Join a pinball league or tournament
Note that even though AI has great tips about how to play pinball better, it doesn’t understand how you physically play pinball! No matter how I changed the prompt, it gets the image wrong.
I also used it to learn more about a specific group of people I was working with on a project that was beyond what a simple Google search could do.
June 2023
In June I started asking more questions like “Explain X-DNA inheritance” and “If two people share 3505 cM of DNA, how are they related?” It did really well on the X-DNA question, but “failed” on the relatedness question. The Shared cM Project, where most genealogists turn to find genetic relationship probabilities based on a shared amount of DNA, shows that two people who share 3505 cM have a 100% probability of being parent/child. ChatGPT also suggested they could be full siblings, half-siblings, or grandparent/grandchild.
I also first started using it to help me with my genetic genealogy presentations asking it to help me write titles and descriptions of my talks.
July 2023
In July, I started trying to find an app I could use to create digital art. I was trying to use a program called Journey for free, but it was always closed to new, non-paying members. Since I also do digital art on my iPad using Procreate, I asked it to generate prompts for my art.
I also used it to help with the probability of two events happening focused on genetic genealogy. I learned that it not only answers your mathematical questions, it shows you HOW to calculate those answers.
(Notice that the AI generated illustration, which I created today, misspells the word “probability.” This is something I’ve noticed on most of my AI illustration generations! I am sure it’ll get better with time.)
August 2023
Why did the genealogist bring a ladder to the family reunion?
He wanted to see if there were any nuts in the tree.
This is the first joke ChatGPT suggested when I asked, in August, for it to “write a joke about genealogy.” The jokes weren’t very good, and I’m also a terrible joke teller so it was probably a bad idea anyway. It is fun to see what AI can create, though I’m sure this is not an original joke.
I also continued to expand how I used ChatGPT for my talks by asking it to brainstorm things to include in a specific talk. This technique helps to save time! Of course, I am not using its suggestions exactly, but it helps to get me started.
I also used ChatGPT during a non-profit meeting to brainstorm fundraising event ideas! This was an amazingly quick way to get a lot of great ideas. And we were able to tweak them to customize them with our theme.
September 2023
In September, I was struggling with getting the page numbers on a handout in Word as I wanted them. I asked ChatGPT, and it gave me the instructions I needed to quickly fix them! I also asked it to help me come up with an Excel formula to help in a tournament where the calculations were complex. Realizing I could turn to AI for help with Word and Excel was a great help for me!
October 2023
In October 2023, I went to the East Coast Genetic Genealogy Conference where Blaine Bettinger used AI generated illustrations in his presentation. This was a game changer for me!
At the conference, I also met Stephen Little who was starting a 4-week course with NGS titled “Empowering Genealogists with Artificial Intelligence.” (We started yesterday and I’m excited about this course!)
When I got home from the conference, I discovered Carole McCulloch of “AI and the Genealogist” through a free video she has on YouTube titled “ChatGPT-4 and DALL-E3: an AI Genealogist Tip.” This is how I really got started generating art illustrations with AI! And it was at this point that I switched to a $20/month paid subscription of ChatGPT to access DALL-E 3.
The Future of AI and Genealogy
I have embraced AI’s power to help me solve problems, acquire new skills and knowledge, brainstorm, edit my written words, and generate illustrations. Just as the ability to use our DNA has transformed genealogy, I believe AI will also transform our field by helping us create quick and accurate transcriptions, abstractions, and translations; process and analyze large amounts of data; and much more. Of course we need to educate oursleves on how to use AI ethically and responsibly, especially in this field of genealogy where the accuracy of the information we share is crucial. Missteps in this area could lead to the spreading of errors, inaccurate family histories, and misleading future researchers.
Personally, I look forward to seeing how AI continues to transform our field as we gather, evaluate, and share our family stories. Although some are uncertain about this new technology, I am excited about harnessing this new power to both enhance our existing practices as well as unlock new tools to help us perform tasks more quickly and accurately. Thankfully, our genealogy community is actively discussing, researching, and even educating our members as to how we can use this tool ethically.
Like many others, I believe the world is entering a new era. As we continue to explore and integrate AI into our work, the possibilities for innovation and discovery are limited only by the advancements in these tools and our own imaginations. Let’s embrace the future as we explore how AI can enhance the field of genealogy.
Your Turn
Have you tried AI? If so, what platform have you used? And what successes or failures have you had while using AI? How do you think it will affect your personal and work life in the future?
I am just starting to experiment using chat, GPT to help me gather ideas and suggestions for writing my family stories. In other facets of my life, I have asked it for gardening tips, create a recipe, and explain simple procedures. I am going to follow your suggestion And ask for it solutions to problems. I have using Microsoft publisher. Thanks for your input on the use of artificial intelligence.
Hi, Judy. I enjoyed reading about some of the ways you’re using ChatGPT! I think it’s a great benefit to all of us to share our successes – and failures – with AI.
Dana
Hi Dana,
Brilliant expose on your experiments with AI. I especially enjoyed the illustrations of the scenes along your journey generated by DALL-E3.
Your post will have the desired effect of inspiring others!
Thanks so much, Carole. And I appreciate all you’re doing to promote using AI alongside genealogy!
Dana
I have been following your Facebook posts. I love the images you are creating. See you in class next week.
Thanks, Angela! I have had so much fun generating these images. But also loving ChatGPT for so many other reasons! I am so excited NGS and Stephen Little created this course. See you in class! Dana
I have tried to use ChatGPT AI to help me figure out my mother’s paternal grandfather’s genetic relationships, but without success. It appears that he was adopted. I have collected many DNA matches from Ancestry and MyHeritage, and have used the LEEDS method and DNA Painter WATO, but still cannot identify his parents with any clarity. Many of the matches are less than 50 cM with my mother and aunt, with just a few as high as 100 cM.
I was hoping that ChatGPT could help me determine the best format for uploading my DNA matches and getting suggestions, but it only suggested a simple Excel spreadsheet, which did not produce satisfactory results. I am hoping that AI programs can analyze the DNA matches in my “Research tree”, as I have documented hundreds of matches and built out their ancestors in my tree.
I suspect that I am hoping for more features or capabilities from the software than it is currently developed for.
Hi, Don. I think some of what you are asking of AI might come in the future! And a lot of “us” will be the ones that figure out how to use AI to help us in our research.
As far as your research problem, have you watched my presentation titled “One Man, Multiple Names”? You can watch it on Legacy Family Tree Webinars with a membership or free, 7-day trial. I use DNA to identify the parents of my mother-in-law’s grandfather – a man who lived his life using an alias. It’s a fascinating case study that I think might be able to help you!
Best wishes,
Dana
Dana, thanks for your very honest assessment as well as your journey into using AI more and in different ways as it continues to evolve. You’ve given me some ideas too!
I recently fed ChatGPT 3.5 a few paragraphs I’d written for some previous grant applications in describing the work of a nonprofit. My prompt asked it to review, summarize, and create bullet points. It did a great job that I was able to tweak to use in a new application. I see possibilities for doing similar things with al the written work we genealogists generate – blogs, newsletters, social media posts, publicity, etc…
Hi, Linda. I LOVE that idea!!! I also work with a nonprofit and I think using AI to help write grant applications is a great idea! And, I was just watching a video that was talking about brainstorming blop post ideas using AI. 😉 There are so many fields this tool can help us with! It will continue to evolve and I guess we will have fun keeping up with it!
Dana
I have been using Canva, and find it quite good. You learn over time what is going to work and what isn’t realistic. For example, asking it to show 1884 Peterborough, Ontario barn on fire with farm wife putting children in the sleigh while she rescues the furniture” doesn’t quite work, but “1880 farm wife house on fire children sleigh” does do a pretty good job 🙂
Hi, Darren. I’ve recently been watching videos of what Canva is now doing with AI. I am really excited about Magic Grab where you can MOVE the main image in your image. I have had a Pro account off and on, but I don’t have it right now. I’m thinking about joining again so I can use some of these tools!
And thanks for sharing your experience. It’s been fun – and entertaining – to see what AI can and cannot do at this point.
Dana
I use ChatGPT sometimes at work and enjoy what it can do. However, recently I heard about a genealogist who used it to analyze a will that was in text form (or you could copy / paste from a PDF) with the goal of having Chat analyze relationships. I tried it tonight with a Will and asked it to 1. Identify relationships, 2. Call out what each received, 3. Highlighting who received the most, and 4. Finally, put it all in a table. I was quite happy with what it did.
Thank you for the post!
Hi, Gina. Thanks for sharing! I am currently taking an NGS course with Stephen Little titled “Empowering Genealogists with Artificial Intelligence.” Working with wills or obituaries like this is someting we’ve been working on! It’s very cool!
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I used FamilySearch experimental full-text search feature. I was amazed that it showed a deed for my 3rd great grandfather that was not recorded properly in the Muskingum County Grantor and Grantee index. I would have never found that information and now I am using the names to further research my family. I was surprised to learn that a particular lot in Mt. Sterling, Ohio has been in my family off and on for over 160 years or more.
Rebecca, What an incredible find! And this is exactly why this tool is so incredible. Congrats!!! And thanks for sharing. 🙂
Dana