AI Intelligence and Genealogical Research

 

While history in general is a broad subject with many specialized subdivisions, genealogical research is one of the more focused parts of the overall historical research community.  An example of the limits of genealogical research is the lack of academic standing in the greater educational community. In universities around the world, there are very few universities that offer a degree in genealogical research. However, the existence of major online websites such as FamilySearch.org, Ancestry.com, and MyHeritage.com are visual evidence of the interest in genealogy as a subject throughout the world. 

 Currently, artificial intelligence (AI) has moved into one of the most controversial and universally discussed topics. Many see AI as revolutionary, and the impact of AI world wide is just barely beginning to be observed. Genealogists are hardly in the forefront of those adopting AI as a basis for their activity, their genealogical research activities. But it is inevitable that the effect of AI advances will change genealogy as much as it will affect every other historical and academic pursuit. 

 Much of the discussion about genealogy and artificial intelligence is focused on its limitations and ignoring its benefits. The most dramatic benefit is the dramatic increase made by AI assisted handwriting recognition. See Gemini 3 Solves Handwriting Recognition and it’s a Bitter Lesson (a must read article fo AI sceptics). Future unreleased upgrades to Google Gemini 3 are rumored to have an even greater increase in accuracy. Handwriting recognition unlocks billions of older records to those who do not have the ability to read old handwriting. This alone has a dramatic impact on the future development of genealogical research.

But the larger question is whether or not the genealogical community will understand and accept AI as an integral part of genealogical research. The larger genealogical websites with family trees and large databases have already adopted many AI features to enhance searching and record analysis, particularly of DNA relationships. But it remains to be seen if the current genealogical researchers who are admittedly older and less apt to incorporate new developments in their genealogical research activities will adopt general AI-assisted research. 

Resistance to the adoption of AI is based in part on the media's portrayal of AI as being unreliable and scary. There is a general focus on how AI could dominate the world through development of artificial general intelligence (AGI) and destroy humanity, and somehow achieve that by being totally unreliable and prone to hallucination.  None of these current alarms and statements about the dangerous nature of AI are new and are merely repetitions of fears expressed since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the 1700s. 

A more reasoned approach to the future of AI is expressed in a recent article published on the Nature website. 

Chen, Eddy Keming, Mikhail Belkin, Leon Bergen, and David Danks. “Does AI Already Have Human-Level Intelligence? The Evidence Is Clear.” Nature 650, no. 8100 (2026): 36–40. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-00285-6.

This authors argue that AGI is no longer a future goal but a present reality. Written by a multidisciplinary team of experts, the piece posits that current large language models (LLMs) have already met the functional standards for general intelligence.

The authors advance the idea that a major hurdle in acknowledging AGI is how we define it. The authors argue that critics often set the bar too high, requiring "superintelligence" or "perfection" that even humans don't possess. They suggest that general intelligence should be judged by:

• Breadth: Competence across multiple domains (math, language, science).
• Depth: Strong performance within those domains.

By these standards, if we consider a person like Einstein to have general intelligence despite his inability to speak Mandarin, we must grant the same status to AI, which exhibits broad and deep cognitive flexibility.

I suggest that AI is a valuable tool for genealogical research and that fears and efforts to limit its use are merely the same responses that occurs with technological innovations generally. 

 For example, years ago with the introduction of the hand calculator, schools throughout the United States and perhaps the world immediately reacted that reliance on hand calculators would result in the destruction of mathematics, and that students would not learn because they had this mechanical crutch.

The same arguments were made about the Wikipedia website that it would ruin education, and that children in schools should not use the website because it was unreliable and would prevent them from learning real information (however that was defined).

Today we're seeing the same thing in the academic world with alarms being raised over the fact that students will not learn how to do basic skills such as recognizing old handwriting because they will somehow need that. The answer is, yes, AI can make mistakes and is limited in many ways, but it is a tool, not a replacement for human knowledge. It's necessary as a component in the use of AI, just as it is with driving cars, flying airplanes, and any other major activities in the world.

A good analogy would be to require automobile mechanics, working on today's advanced automobiles, to retain horseshoeing skills because fundamentally, that was one of the abilities that was necessary for a large number of people a hundred years ago. 

Genealogists, like the rest of the world, will have to adapt to AI just as they have to the rest of the world's technological advancements. Get on the train before it leaves the station. 

The new face of The Family History Guide

 

https://thefhguide.com/

Back in 2015, when The Family History Guide first appeared online, it would have been impossible to predict the effect and impact that this website has had on the genealogical community. This website, with free structural learning paths for genealogical research, has helped countless people across the world to understand and develop their research skills. Sponsored by The Family History Guide Association, this non-profit 501(c)3 corporation has sustained efforts to progress in the new AI world. The website has gone through a complete revision and updating with dozens of individually crafted AI-based tutorials. 

The basis for this change is the guided learning library, where you can discover how guided learning can connect you with key resources in The Family History Guide. 

 The Family History Guide will be at RootsTech 2026 in Salt Lake City from March 5th to March 7th with a major booth. Come and see us at the RootsTech conference. The Family History Guide is supported entirely by contributions. 

Getting Started With AI for the Absolute Beginner

From what you hear online, you would think that getting started using an AI chatbot was complicated**,** with tons of jargon and arcane commands. However, getting started is as simple as asking a question. If you look carefully at the Google Gemini entry field, you will see that the instructions for the chatbot are simple: 'Ask Gemini.' Here are three steps to getting started. I am using Google Gemini because it is probably the AI chatbot that you will have the most access to.

Step One: If you already have a Google account, you're ready to start. But if you do not have a Google account, you will need to sign into Google. You may already have a Google account if you have Gmail, Chrome, or any other Google product. 

Step two is also fairly simple. Search for and open Gemini. You should see a screen that looks like this. 

Step three: Ask a question. 

 At this point, I have some suggestions for your first questions.

1. How do I ask you questions?
2. How do I design prompts?

The difference between a question and a prompt is:

• A question asks for some information.
• A prompt gives Gemini directions to do something.

The whole key to learning about AI involves continuing to ask questions and give prompts. If you are using or considering using AI for genealogical research, simply continue to ask questions about how to do genealogical research with Gemini. If you read any articles or hear from one of your friends, neighbors, or relatives about how they are using AI, simply take their suggestion and ask Gemini whether it is a good idea or not. It's that simple. Don't try to make things more complicated. 

 If you want a lot of help really fast, you can click on the tools link in the chat box and select "Guided Learning." Then, the question would be a prompt: "Teach me how to use AI." 

 Currently, Google has three levels of Gemini:

1. You get it when you sign in
2. Gemini Pro, which costs $20/month (which, of course, may change) 
3. For businesses and costs $250/month

You do not need the third level unless you are a programmer or a business. If you have any questions, the answer is still simple: Ask Gemini! 

Just a note. As of February 2026, the Gemini ecosystem is headlined by the Gemini 3 series, featuring the flagship Gemini 3 Pro for complex reasoning and the lightning-fast Gemini 3 Flash, both of which now include a dedicated "Thinking" mode for advanced agentic workflows and "vibe coding." While Gemini 3 Flash has become the default model for most users due to its near-pro-level intelligence at a lower latency, Gemini 3 Pro remains the top choice for sophisticated math, coding, and deep research tasks. Additionally, Google continues to support the Gemini 2.5 family (Pro, Flash, and Flash-Lite) for high-volume enterprise tasks, though older Gemini 2.0 models are scheduled for retirement by March 2026. This lineup is rounded out by specialized tools like Nano Banana Pro for high-fidelity image editing and the Veo 3.1 model for state-of-the-art video generation.

The 17 Rules of Gnealogy now a video

 

https://youtu.be/mDIGO80_xCM?si=aJ3VMb6oCkHCpRBY

I have been developing these rules for many years and now the number stands at 17. Watch this video for a quick view (an hour) about each one of the 17 Rules. Here is a summary of the rules, not necessarily in numerical order. 

In this video, James Tanner presents his updated 17 Rules of Genealogy, which serve as "guard rails" to keep researchers grounded in historical reality and logic.

The Basics & Physical Realities

• Rule 1: When the baby was born, the mother was there. 04:13 Opens in a new window A mother cannot give birth in two places at once or after her death; records contradicting this are incorrect.

• Rule 2: Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. 05:48 Opens in a new window The lack of a death record or obituary does not mean a person is still alive; many deaths were simply never recorded.

• Rule 3: Every person has a unique identity. 07:38 Opens in a new window Every individual has a unique birth order and biological parents. Use "FAN" (Friends, Associates, Neighbors) research to differentiate between people with the same name.

The Nature of Records

• Rule 4: There are always more records. 10:04 Opens in a new window Most researchers only reach the end of "BMD" (Birth, Marriage, Death) and census records. Countless other categories (land, tax, court, church) often remain unexplored.

• Rule 5: You can't get blood out of a turnip. 12:06 Opens in a new window If a record was never created or has been destroyed, you cannot force a conclusion. You must accept the limitations of available data.

• Rule 6: Records move. 14:15 Opens in a new window Records rarely stay where the event happened. They migrate to county seats, state archives, or national repositories, often following boundary changes.

• Rule 17: Where life happened, records remained. 18:24 Opens in a new window Even if formal birth/death records don't exist (common in early Latin America), other records of a person's life usually do. You must identify who had the authority to record events at that time.

Movement & Patterns

• Rule 7: Information and genealogical flow move downhill. 20:50 Opens in a new window It is easier to trace descendants forward in time than ancestors backward. Records become scarcer and oral histories fade as you go further back.

• Rule 8: Everything in genealogy is connected. 25:34 Opens in a new window Unconventional records—like cattle brands, which were inheritable property—can reveal family connections and maiden names.

• Rule 9: Patterns are everywhere. 28:10 Opens in a new window Human behavior is patterned. Understanding naming conventions, migration routes, and social behaviors helps predict where an ancestor went or who they were.

• Rule 10: Read the fine print. 34:38 Opens in a new window Answers to "brick walls" are often hidden in witnesses' signatures, marginal notes, or the neighbors listed on a census page.

Truth & Verification

• Rule 11: Coincidences happen. 37:32 Opens in a new window Matching names, dates, and places do not guarantee it is your ancestor. You need corroborating evidence to prove identity.

• Rule 15: A fact is not a fact without a record. 41:17 Opens in a new window Pedigrees that go back centuries into nobility are often just theories or hearsay unless backed by contemporaneous historical records.

Methodology & Philosophy

• Rule 12: The end is always there. 45:30 Opens in a new window All lineages eventually end where records no longer exist. Recognizing this prevents the fabrication of false lineages back to antiquity.

• Rule 13: Don't just fill in the blanks. 50:29 Opens in a new window Genealogists can be "collectors" who feel compelled to fill every spot on a fan chart. This pressure often leads to adding names without proper evidence.

• Rule 14: You aren't responsible for what you find. 53:25 Opens in a new window You may discover ancestors who were criminals or slave owners. You are simply an observer and recorder of history, not responsible for their actions.

• Rule 16: Gravity always wins. 54:05 Opens in a new window Physical deterioration (fire, mold, pests) destroys records. Don't build "false pedigrees" on shaky ground, as they will eventually fall apart.

For more details, you can view the full video An Update of the Now Seventeen Rules of Genealogy.