By Jessica Gorman
Be warned. When it comes to learning more about history or learning more about your family, AI is generally not your friend. It can and will lead you astray. Personally, I’m not a fan of AI, for many reasons, but that’s not the point here. Instead, I think it’s important to help others understand the limitations of AI and to have realistic expectations.
I’m not sure what others may be seeing locally, but in general, word is AI-driven requests for information are increasing across historical institutions. I’m pretty sure I’m beginning to see this as well. Some have admitted ChatGPT sent them to me and others I highly suspect. I know for certain that our website is being crawled by AI bots pretty much every day.
AI aside, people becoming more aware of where to go for information is a good thing. I can only hope that leads to greater awareness of the real value of archives, museums, libraries, historical and genealogical organizations, the information they hold, and the personal relevance to so many.
There’s also a downside and one many aren’t aware of. AI doesn’t have all the answers. Actually, AI itself doesn’t have any of the answers, and when it can’t find answers, it will make connections that don’t exist, suggestions that aren’t accurate, and sometimes, it’ll just make something up.
So, what do you need to know? When you prompt AI, it’s important to know that it can only respond using information it has access to. If you ask a history question, especially local history, or a genealogy question, odds are that the available information is extremely limited. In addition, not all information online is accessible to AI. Much historical and genealogical information, in the form of primary sources, is not accessible to AI. In general, access is limited to published works that are freely available online. If someone else hasn’t researched the topic and if that work hasn’t been published online and freely available, there is nothing for the AI to pull from. Those of us working in the history field, researching and writing, are using those primary resources AI can’t get to. There is no shortcut.
What happens if you ask a question that has no relevant information published? It is entirely possible that the response will be a completely fictional AI hallucination. It will lie. I’ve heard some really great stories that someone “found” on the internet, but unfortunately, they aren’t true and then I get the very “fun” job of trying to politely explain why it’s not true.
What else do you need to know? AI may suggest places to contact for more information. In and of itself, that’s good. We want people to know to come to the museum for help. However, it is creating unrealistic expectations. One thing I’ve heard several times recently is, “Y’all are supposed to have…” Every time, it has been something that I know doesn’t exist and not just that it doesn’t exist at the museum. It doesn’t exist at all, but AI told them it does. Just this morning I saw a social media post in an archivist group expressing frustration with this trend asking, “Or how do I keep from laughing when the phone call starts with ChatGPT says your collection has fill in the blank.” That may seem harsh, but many organizations don’t have the extra capacity required to deal with the additional burden being created by AI.
If “the internet” tells you we have a particular resource available, it’s important to know that it’s not possible for “the internet” to know because that information is not currently available online. If it was, you would be able to find it by going straight to our website. Another thing that is important to know and understand is that there may not be a neatly compiled resource about whatever topic you’re interested in. That doesn’t mean we don’t have the information or access to the information. The work just hasn’t been done yet. The information may be in a book or history journal in our resource library. We may need to check a newspaper archive. We may need to look up some records. So, please bring your questions, but also realistic expectations of what is required to find the answer to the question.
As these AI-driven requests increase, my workload increases. Not just in providing assistance but in identifying and employing strategies that influence the information returned in AI-generated responses. An important component is our website. Somewhere on the to-do list are several additions and updates that need to be made but haven’t managed to make it to the top of the list. Those additions and updates are now becoming more of a priority and will be adapted to hopefully influence AI to provide more accurate information about the resources we hold, the services we provide, and how to effectively research in Webster Parish.
While it’s important to take that AI-generated answer with a grain of salt, I’m going to do what I can to help more accurate information reach anyone who may be looking, and please don’t hesitate to let me know if I can ever be of assistance.
(Jessica Gorman is Executive Director of the Dorcheat Historical Association Museum, Webster Parish Historian, President of the Minden Cemetery Association, and an avid genealogist.)