Review
Family Locket’s four-day course on using AI for genealogy was the exact instruction I needed to enhance my knowledge in this ever-changing new landscape. Previous to their lessons, my interactions with AI tools had been minimal, but afterwards, I walked away with experience dabbling in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity. I got an overview on the main power players in the genealogy world who are already very adept at utilizing these tools in their research, as well as a plethora of tips and tricks that assist in refining AI results for my own research. The material covers ways that AI can benefit every single step in the RLP process, including citations and report writing. I highly recommend it for any and all levels of genealogy research! -Kira D. Foltz, 4 Aug 2024
Information
The recordings of this course are now available for purchase. The four-day workshop included eight hours of instruction delivered in one week. Each day we will met from 9:30-11:30 am Mountain Time on Zoom for two hours of instruction. Short “assignments” for hands-on practice were given to be completed after the lesson. Those who purchase the recordings will have access to all the materials, including the assignments and chat logs from the class. Individuals who participated in the live workshop and appear in the video gave permission to be included in the recordings.
Schedule
Lesson 1 – Intro to AI Tools, Research Objectives, and Timelines
Lesson 2 – Citations, Locality Research, Research Planning
Lesson 3 – Research Logs, Transcriptions
Lesson 4 – Report Writing, Editing, and Proofs
Interaction
A Facebook group for those who attended the live workshop and those watching the recordings is available for interaction until September 30. This enables you to discuss your discoveries, successes, and failures with fellow classmates.
Recordings
The recordings will be available until September 30, 2024. AI tools change and develop quickly, so the recordings will not be available after that, but the class may be repeated in the future.
Assignments
Hands-on practice ideas are included provided, but the homework will not be reviewed by the instructors or peer groups. Two homework tracks are available – basic and intermediate. The intermediate homework, suggested for those experienced with the Research Like a Pro process, will be to start with an objective and complete a mini research project.
Reading and Resources
Each lesson includes suggested reading to expand your understanding. The lesson materials also include a PDF of the slides from the lecture for additional review.
Tools Required
Create free accounts for ChatGPT by OpenAI, Claude by Anthropic, and Gemini by Google; or at least one of these.
Create free accounts for ChatGPT by OpenAI, Claude by Anthropic, Gemini by Google, or at least one of these. We also recommend perplexity in addition to these three. See the following websites to get started:
- ChatGPT by Open AI
- Claude by Anthropic
- Gemini by Google
- Perplexity.ai
A paid account at Claude is suggested, in order to utilize the Claude Projects feature.
If you want to use Airtable as the research log, the generative AI tools there require a paid plan (as of 8/8/2024). This generative AI at Airtable enables you to write sections of your report within Airtable.
Prerequisites
No prerequisites are needed, but to get more out of the course, here are some suggestions to help familiarize yourself with AI and Research Like a Pro:
Research Like a Pro process:
- Read Diana’s blog series about RLP
- Read or listen to our book, Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist’s Guide – our book is $4.99 on Amazon Kindle, $20 for paperback, and also available as an audiobook
- Listen to the the RLP steps in our podcast. We recently reviewed them in episodes 184-190.
- Watch our Research Like a Pro in 30 Minutes a Day YouTube video on our Family Locket channel.
Generative AI Tools and Genealogy:
- Increasing Genealogy Productivity with Artificial Intelligence – Nicole Dyer on the Family Locket YouTube channel
- Empowering Genealogists with Artificial Intelligence with Steve Little – YouTube Video on NGS channel
- 10 ChatGPT Prompts Every Genealogist Needs to Know with Blaine Bettinger – Findmypast YouTube Channel
- Videos by the Transkribus team on YouTube
- Disclosing Use of AI for Writing Assistance in Genealogy by Nicole Dyer at Family Locket
Additional Posts on Transcription of Genealogical Materials:
- Transkribus: Revolutionizing Handwritten Text Analysis with AI by Nicole Dyer at Family Locket
- Handwritten Text Recognition by Claude 3.5 Sonnet by Nicole Dyer at Family Locket
- Transcribing Document Images with ChatGPT and Claude by Nicole Dyer at Family Locket
Instructors
Nicole Elder Dyer
Diana Elder, AG, AGL
Barb Groth –
Family Locket’s recent AI course proved both informative and highly practical, regardless of one’s level of genealogy research experience. The preparation materials provided an excellent introduction to AI and its applications in genealogy.
The course consisted of four concise two-hour presentations, each offering valuable insights:
AI-Assisted Research Expansion: By inputting a previous research report into an AI model, I received five additional research objective possibilities for each family line mentioned in the original report. This will significantly expand my research scope.
Enhanced Locality Research and Citation Review: Using AI, I improved my Milwaukee, WI locality guide with suggestions for additional collections and research locations. Additionally, an AI model reviewed my citations in a recent report, identifying inconsistencies I had overlooked.
German Research Optimization: As someone who frequently conducts German research, this session was invaluable. I learned how to leverage Transkribus and two AI models to extract information from German records more easily and effectively.
Report Writing and Future Applications: The final session focused on report writing techniques. While I need to update my AirTable to fully implement these strategies, I discovered how AI models can help identify passive voice and suggest improvements in my writing.
In conclusion, this course demonstrated the diverse applications of AI in genealogy research, from expanding research objectives to improving writing quality. It has equipped me with tools to enhance various aspects of my genealogical work.
Kira D. Foltz –
Family Locket’s four-day course on using AI for genealogy was the exact instruction I needed to enhance my knowledge in this ever-changing new landscape. Previous to their lessons, my interactions with AI tools had been minimal, but afterwards, I walked away with experience dabbling in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity. I got an overview on the main power players in the genealogy world who are already very adept at utilizing these tools in their research, as well as a plethora of tips and tricks that assist in refining AI results for my own research. The material covers ways that AI can benefit every single step in the RLP process, including citations and report writing. I highly recommend it for any and all levels of genealogy research!
Dick Moody –
Just like about 40 percent of the people registered for the Research Like a Pro with Ai four-day workshop, I had from 0-10 hours experimenting with generative AI tools. (Count me at 0 hours.) However, don’t worry, Diana Elder, AG and Nicole Dyer, the Family Locket Genealogists, provided step-by-step instructions with demonstrations and “homework” for beginners like me and for an intermediate track. Within a two days went from asking an AI tool about the local weather to using various AI tools to research and write a locality guide. Whew, after day four my head was spinning. Again, not to worry. All the sessions are recorded and made available for later viewing, along with the PowerPoint presentations and other daily summaries. Two thumbs up. This is a game changer for my research.