AI in the Archives: How AI is transforming archival research from institutions to content providers
Speakers
Explore how leading institutions and content providers are harnessing AI to expand new possibilities for discovery. From Vanderbilt University to ProQuest, this session highlights real-world applications of AI in digitized archives, from handwritten text recognition to machine translation, and shows how these innovations empower researchers while making rare and fragile content more widely accessible.
Daniel Genkins shared how SSDA preserves the most extensive serial records on Africans in the Atlantic World, spanning more than 700,000 digitized images from the 16th–20th centuries. These materials documented the lives of 4–6 million individuals and included valuable insights on the Indigenous, European and Asian populations who lived alongside them.
Jim Duran presented an inside look at the digitization and transcription of 62,000 hours of U.S. television news using AWS machine learning. He shared which processes were automated, which required human review, and how full‑text, segmented transcripts are advancing news research and discovery.
Farhana Hoque highlighted AI‑powered innovations in ProQuest Digital Collections, including handwritten text recognition, foreign‑language translation and ProQuest Research Assistant, demonstrating how AI can enhance engagement with historical content.
