How the Smithsonian Is Using AI to Connect Artifacts From the American Revolution
Researchers are using AI to identify about 10,000 Revolutionary-era objects and connect records across Smithsonian collections and partner institutions, officials said.
- On Tuesday, Smithsonian leaders used artificial intelligence to connect historical artifacts tied to the American Revolution. The project, Revolution Crossroads, helps researchers understand the nation's 250th anniversary of independence.
- Becky Kobberod, chief digital and innovation officer at the Smithsonian, led a team that identified about 10,000 objects from a 40-year period. This work takes on new significance as Republican President Donald Trump has questioned some of the Smithsonian Institution's portrayals of American History.
- Kobberod acknowledged a "healthy fear" of AI but emphasized that trained historians must review data to recognize nuance that a machine is not. The Smithsonian is not using current frontier models that have received recent scrutiny.
- For Natalie Buda Smith, director of digital strategy at the Library of Congress, said the project illustrates researchers might find part of the story at the Smithsonian and part at the Library. This work helps people researching materials across organizations.
- An ideal scenario is that we're actually adding to the public record, Kobberod said. Maybe they are not Thomas Jefferson or George Washington, but they did live in a community and that name is now known.
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39 Articles
Associated Press News
Smithsonian Is Using AI To Help Interpret Its Collection
The goal is to allow the public and scholars to both search the institution’s collection and draw connections across the Smithsonian and other organizations, such as the Library of Congress, to gain a deeper sense of how communities formed and functioned at the nation’s birth. – AP News
Smithsonian looks to AI to help tie back to past
The distance in the march from the American Revolution to the age of artificial intelligence (AI) is a vast gulf. Now, leaders of the Smithsonian Institution are using AI to bridge the divide.As the US celebrates its 250th anniversary of independence, Smithsonian leaders are turning to AI to better
The distance between the American War of Independence and the era of artificial intelligence is almost inconceivable. However, the leaders of the Smithsonian Institution are using AI to bridge that gap.
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