The Family History AI Show

Co-hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little recap their experiences at the East Coast Genetic Genealogy Conference last week, highlighting Dana Leeds' innovative use of AI for efficiently created charts using the Leeds Method. They then explore OpenAI's new Canvas feature, comparing it to Claude's Artifacts, and discuss its potential for genealogical research. Next, Mark and Steve review Google's Note...

Co-hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little are excited to share OpenAI's Advanced Voice Mode, which enables natural conversations with AI, and how FamilySearch's expanded full-text Search is revolutionizing records accessibility. They stress responsible AI use throughout this week's episode, introducing a new series on verifying the accuracy of AI-generated information. Send your stories of AI accura...

In this special edition of the Family History AI Show, co-hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little do a deep dive into OpenAI's latest release, code-named "Project Strawberry." They explain the new ChatGPT-o1 models, discuss their reasoning capabilities and most importantly, their potential impacts on genealogical research. They also offer practical advice on when and how to use these new tools effect...

In this episode of the Family History AI Show, Mark Thompson and Steve Little explore the latest AI news, views and reviews for family historians.  They start with Google Gemini's new file upload capabilities and examine AI's impact on genealogy education, offering practical advice for researchers. Then, they discuss the increasing availability of saved prompts across AI platforms. Don’t miss this...

Hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little expertly navigate the rapidly evolving AI landscape, offering practical insights on leveraging AI for your family history research. Mark and Steve open this episode by discussing lessons that genealogists can learn from Hollywood on the importance of fact-checking. Next, they provide a comprehensive roundup of the top AI image-generation tools. Then, how Google...

In this episode, hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little discuss Microsoft's new AI-enhanced search tool, Deep Search.  Then, they review Google's major list of AI announcements. In the last big story this week, Mark and Steve talk about how photography has changed in the digital age.   Don’t miss this week’s Tip of the Week, where Mark and Steve provide valuable insights into Building Better Prompts...

Join co-hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little to explore the latest developments in AI and Family History. This week, they discuss Ancestry's innovative new tool for summarizing key US records. They also review Ancestry’s new AI chatbot that greatly simplifies finding the best support documents. Next, they gawk at Google's impressive Gemini 1.5 Pro update. Then, they wrap up the week’s top news sto...

Co-hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little explore the potential benefits of Meta's open-source approach to AI. Next, they discuss MyHeritage's plans to retire an AI feature. Then, they review the AI image generation features recently added to Adobe Illustrator.  In this week’s Tip of the Week, they share valuable insights on crafting effective, hallucination-resistant, AI prompts using the “role, ta...

In this week’s episode, hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little explore Meta AI 3.1's huge large language model upgrade, as well as FamilySearch's innovative, AI-based summarization feature. They then address growing concerns about AI hype. In this week’s Tip of the Week, they share their approach for mastering the fine art of summarization, a crucial AI skill for genealogical research. The show roun...

In this episode, hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little dive into Perplexity's big upgrade, enhancing research capabilities for family historians. They tackle pressing ethical concerns in AI, exploring copyright issues and training data controversies that impact genealogists. The show introduces a new series on building better prompts, offering practical tips to maximize AI tools. In the rapid-fire...

In this episode of The Family History AI Show, hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little discuss the latest advancements in AI tools for genealogists. Discover how Anthropic’s new Claude Projects feature stacks up against OpenAI’s custom GPTs, and learn about essential reusable prompts for genealogical research. We also highlight key insights from the GRIP Annual Institute’s AI panel, addressing top qu...

Hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little discuss Steve's recent AI course for genealogists at GRIP and the rapid pace of learning and practical applications for genealogy.  They examine the industry-wide effects of Apple's focus on AI privacy and security, including at OpenAI. The launch of Anthropic's Claude 3.5 Sonnet is a major advancement, offering huge improvements for genealogical research.  Thi...

Show Description: In this episode of the Family History AI Show, hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little discuss recent developments in AI for genealogy. They recap the groundbreaking AI Day at the Ontario Genealogical Society conference, highlighting the engaging presentations made throughout the conference. An exclusive interview with Daniel Horowitz reveals MyHeritage's user-friendly approach to A...

In this episode of the Family History AI Show, co-hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little discuss the exciting developments in AI announced at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) last week. In particular, Apple's promise of a more secure, private approach to AI. Apple's approach to AI is compared with Microsoft's Recall feature and Google's Memory, highlighting the importance of security an...

“These tools are so useful […] that even if there are prohibitions against their use, […] there's an incredible temptation to use them surreptitiously.” - Steve Little Join Mark Thompson and Steve Little as they discuss the AI stories affecting the family history community. AI outages, ethical debates, and cutting-edge tools were all big news this week.    Also, listen to how OpenAI's new content...

Welcome to the first episode of The Family History AI Show! This week, Mark and Steve dive into the latest developments in AI and how they are transforming the world of genealogy. From the new tools announced recently by OpenAI and Google to big stories from the National Genealogical Society conference, this episode is packed with insights and tips for leveraging AI in your family history research...