AI is not “intelligent” but can appear to be so treat with care. There are a number of things you can do to get the best out of AI and to help protect against receiving incorrect information from AI, these include:
- Tell the AI what you are expecting, e.g. ‘You are an expert genealogist’ or ‘You are an expert on social history’ – whatever the context is.
- Tell the AI ‘Do not make anything up. Please document all sources and references clearly. ’
- Treat the information the same as you would any information you find on Ancestry – Check the sources yourself and make sure it is correct before using it.
Our Website Manager - Kevin Hurley - will be speaking about Using AI in Genealogy at the Swindon Branch meeting on 8 October where he will highlight the pitfalls and potential benefits of using AI in family history research.
Kevin says “I always treat any AI I use as a useful but stupid assistant that may do what you ask, may give useful hints but aways needs checking before accepting or usingf any information it produces"
