RLP 419: What Genealogists Are Saying About AI Transcription of Foreign-Language Documents

About this episode

Diana and Nicole discuss how genealogists use artificial intelligence to transcribe handwritten, foreign-language historical documents. They review feedback from a survey regarding experiences with various AI tools, including Transkribus, Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude, and Leo. The researchers report positive experiences, with average accuracy ratings between 7.5 and 8 out of 10. Listeners learn which languages, such as Spanish, German, French, Latin, and Scandinavian, are commonly processed through these tools. The discussion highlights that while AI excels at speed, it frequently struggles with proper names, obscure place names, and table-based data.

The hosts share field-tested strategies for successful transcription. Listeners learn to provide extensive context in their prompts, work in small segments, and perform a manual "rough read" before utilizing AI. Diana and Nicole emphasize the importance of acquiring basic language skills to spot errors, especially when dealing with subtle, plausible hallucinations from large language models. They conclude that AI serves as a powerful assistant but caution that it cannot replace the researcher's own skill and judgment.

This summary was generated by Google Gemini.

Links

What Genealogists Are Saying About AI Transcription of Foreign-Language Documents – Family Locket - https://familylocket.com/what-genealogists-are-saying-about-ai-transcription-of-foreign-language-documents/

Survey - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfZev1baLVTzKZ0skumxp5syTMAmCMeQkvda4YhLMmYPmOaVg/viewform?usp=sharing

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Research Like a Pro Resources

Airtable Universe - Nicole's Airtable Templates - https://www.airtable.com/universe/creator/usrsBSDhwHyLNnP4O/nicole-dyer

Airtable Research Logs Quick Reference - by Nicole Dyer - https://familylocket.com/product-tag/airtable/

Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist's Guide book by Diana Elder with Nicole Dyer on Amazon.com - https://amzn.to/2x0ku3d

Research Like a Pro with AI Workbook – Second Edition (eBook) - https://familylocket.com/product/research-like-a-pro-with-ai-workbook-second-edition-ebook/

14-Day Research Like a Pro Challenge Workbook - digital - https://familylocket.com/product/14-day-research-like-a-pro-challenge-workbook-digital-only/ and spiral bound - https://familylocket.com/product/14-day-research-like-a-pro-challenge-workbook-spiral-bound/

Research Like a Pro Webinar Series - monthly case study webinars including documentary evidence and many with DNA evidence - https://familylocket.com/product-category/webinars/

Research Like a Pro eCourse - independent study course - https://familylocket.com/product/research-like-a-pro-e-course/

RLP Study Group - upcoming group and email notification list - https://familylocket.com/services/research-like-a-pro-study-group/

Research Like a Pro Institute Courses - https://familylocket.com/product-category/institute-course/

Research Like a Pro with DNA Resources

Research Like a Pro with DNA: A Genealogist's Guide to Finding and Confirming Ancestors with DNA Evidence book by Diana Elder, Nicole Dyer, and Robin Wirthlin - https://amzn.to/3gn0hKx

Research Like a Pro with DNA eCourse - independent study course - https://familylocket.com/product/research-like-a-pro-with-dna-ecourse/

RLP with DNA Study Group - upcoming group and email notification list - https://familylocket.com/services/research-like-a-pro-with-dna-study-group/

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