Living with the Kurzweil's Rule of the Law of Accelerating Returns

Here is an illustration of Kurzweil's Rule:

Ray Kurzweil's Law of Accelerating Returns (LOAR) is a concept asserting that the rate of change and progress in a wide variety of evolutionary systems, particularly technology, tends to increase exponentially, contrary to the common human intuition of linear growth. 

The Law of Accelerating Returns was primarily introduced and detailed by Ray Kurzweil in his influential works. Here is a list of some of the books by Kurzweil and others.

Kurzweil, Ray, and Diane Jaroch. 1990. The Age of Intelligent Machines. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.

Kurzweil, Ray. 1999. The Age of Spiritual Machines : When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence. New York: Viking.

Kurzweil, Ray. 2005. The Singularity Is near : When Humans Transcend Biology. New York: Viking.

Kurzweil, Ray. 2024. The Singularity Is Nearer : When We Merge with AI. [New York]: Viking.

At the time of this post, the online app with the fastest user adoption rate is Threads.com, which reached 100 million users in less than five days. Before Threads, the record holder was ChatGPT.com, which reached 100 million monthly active users in approximately two months. The adoption of generative AI more than doubled between 2023 and 2024, rising from 33% to 71%. AI is only one aspect of the overall technology. See The state of AI in 2025: Agents, innovation, and transformation.

As a historical information based pursuit, genealogy is broadly impacted by technological change. Technology has dramatically transformed genealogy by making research faster, more accessible, and more accurate. Developments such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, massive online databases, and DNA testing have allowed genealogists to discover family histories with a level of detail and efficiency that was previously unimaginable. See Unraveling the Past: AI and the Evolution of Genealogy

I was first involved with computers in 1969/1970 learning to program the main frame computer in the engineering department of the University of Utah. I was majoring in linguistics. I bought my first computer, an Apple II, in about 1978,  I first saw the World Wide Web or internet, at a local community college in Scottsdale, Arizona in 1990 when there were reported to be six "websites." By that time I had been working on my own genealogy for eight years. As I have watched all the developments, I have been impressed by how fast they are coming over time. I now get notice of technological advancements that will directly impact genealogy many times every week such as announcements in metalenses (which is even a new word). See Dielectric metalens for miniaturized imaging systems: progress and challenges Current advances have begun to have commercial applicability. See From performance to structure: a comprehensive survey of advanced metasurface design for next-generation imaging.

Metalenses will indirectly benefit genealogy through future advancements in related technologies like: 

High-resolution imaging for digitizing historical documents and images, enhanced optical character recognition (OCR) for automatically reading difficult-to-access handwritten records and also creating compact, powerful scanning devices that could be used for preserving physical documents. 

Most of the online genealogy companies are implementing AI-based features that will also impact genealogists directly. I expect that applying these new advances may finally help genealogy from being viewed as stogy and only for old people. 

Meanwhile, I will continue to try to translate new developments into understandable concepts. 

Protecting Trust in Historical Images from the Coalition for Responsible AI in Genealogy

 https://craigen.org/protecting-trust-in-historical-images/

Let's say you are now on FamilySearch.org looking at your part of the FamilyTree and discover that someone has posted a Memory of a "photo" of your great-great-great grandmother who died in 1834. You begin to wonder where this image came from. Obviously, with the now not-so-new availability almost anyone can ask for generated images from dozens, perhaps hundreds, of online apps including such well-known apps such as Photoshop, ChatGPT, and many others. 

Here is a sample image generated from Adobe Firefly.

I should hope my ancestors were rich enough to look like this. Anyway, it might help to note that photography, especially color photography, did not exist in the 1700s. However, anyone can totally disreagard historical accuracy and generate almost anything you can imagine. Because of what is happening in the AI world of image and video generation, the Coalition for Responsible AI in Genealogy (CRAIGEN.org) has been working on establishing some basic principles for using generated images and for using AI in general. If you are a genealogist and have any idea of the historical problems arising from the improper use of AI not only to generate images but also to alter historical images, documents and artifacts, you should click on the link to the website and review the Guiding Principles and Statements. You might also want to read some of the Education articles. We will be posting more information and articles as well as writing blog posts and doing videos on thes subjects raised on the website. 

Understanding FamilySearch GEDCOM Updated

 https://gedcom.io/

GEDCOM stands for GEnealogical Data Communication and is a file format for exchanging family tree data between different genealogy software programs. It acts as a universal translator, allowing users to export their family history data from one application and import it into another, ensuring compatibility and data transfer without losing information like names, dates, and relationships. GEDCOM files can also serve as a backup for your research.  See https://www.familysearch.org/en/gedcom/

The original GEDCOM specification was released in 1984, and the last update to it was version 5.5 in 1996 with an incremental upgrade to version 5.5.1 released in 2019. The latest version of the GEDCOM specification is FamilySearch GEDCOM 7.0, which was first released in May 2021. The most recent minor release is version 7.0.16, dated March 18, 2025. See https://gedcom.io/about/

Key features of version 7.0 include:

• Modern character encoding, requiring UTF-8 throughout, which better supports international character sets.
• Improved multimedia handling through "GEDZip," a standard zip format that packages genealogical data with associated photos and other files.
• Expanded and more versatile notes with support for text styling and formatting.
• Removal of ambiguities present in the previous standard, GEDCOM 5.5.1.
• Introduction of semantic versioning and a public GitHub repository to manage maintenance and future development.

What is the difference between the FamilySearch GEDCOM standard and an app or program?

FamilySearch GEDCOM is a standard file format for storing and exchanging genealogical data. It is a text-based file (with a .ged or .gdz extension) that uses specific tags and structure to define genealogical information (names, dates, places, relationships, sources, etc.). Think of GEDCOM as the universal language for family trees.  Its primary purpose is to enable the exchange and transfer of family tree data between different genealogy software programs and websites. It ensures that data exported from one system can be understood and imported by another. FamilySearch developed the original GEDCOM standard and continues to steward new versions (like the current FamilySearch GEDCOM 7.0) to improve compatibility and add new features, such as the ability to package associated media files. 

FamilySearch GEDZip is an added feature of the FamilySearch GEDCOM specification. A standard zip archive file is formatted to combine existing Family Tree data with external images and other files. The FamilySearch GEDZip file can be unzipped after transfer, making the genealogical data and associated external files available together in a different software product. The exact procedures for importing or exporting files will vary according to the individual software product’s implementation of the FamilySearch GEDCOM specification. See GEDCOM 7.0 FAQ

A genealogy app or program (such as RootsMagic, Family Tree Maker, Ancestry, etc.) is the software application you use to build, view, manage, and analyze your family tree data. This is the tool with the graphical user interface (GUI) that allows you to input, edit, visualize, and generate reports from your family data. See https://www.sog.org.uk/education/learning-hub/guides-tips/family-history-software/

Apps offer features that the simple GEDCOM file does not, such as robust data entry forms, complex chart generation, direct searching of online record databases, image management, synchronization features, and advanced reporting. Genealogy programs rely on the GEDCOM standard to export your family tree data into a transportable file and to import data from other users or sites. While a program's internal database may store more proprietary information or structure the data differently, the GEDCOM file acts as the standard interchange layer. See What is a GEDCOM file?

If you are a programmer or a developer, you can participate in the ongoing discussion about the development of future releases of the FamilySearch GEDCOM standard at FamilySearch/GEDCOM

Note: The FamilySearch GEDCOM Steering Committee is the group that manages and guides the evolution of the FamilySearch GEDCOM standard, meeting regularly to discuss issues and pull requests for the project's repositories. Their role is similar to other steering committees: they help align the standard with its objectives, resolve conflicts and issues that arise, and make decisions about its future direction, ensuring it continues to be a practical data structure for exchanging genealogical information. See GEDCOM Steering Committee 

Expanded links on FamilySearch.org

FamilySearch.org

When you scroll down to the bottom of the FamilySearch.org website's you will see the following list of links. 

The "Site Map" link is an outline of the main parts of the website. I doubt that many of my readers ever looked at or used the Site Map. Here is a screen shot of the Site Map. 

You might was to spend some time clicking around on the Site Map. You may have some surprises. 

Now, by clicking on the More arrow that I have outlined above in red, at the bottom of some of the pages on the FamilySearch.org website, you can now see this expanded list of links to topics including links to other websites.  The new list does not have a name, but it contains even more helpful links. The list is above at the beginning of this post.

I suggest that you might want to familiarize yourself with each of the links. You might be additionally surprised at what is now found there. The list is also different for those who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and those who are not and/or are not registered on the website. You might also note that some of the links are the same between the two lists. You might also view some of the items in both lists that can act as shortcuts to some of the lesser used features of the website. 

Have some fun clicking around.

Why are you stressing over an end-of-line?

 

It is a fact of life that all your ancestral lines ultimately end. You can call these a "brick wall" if you are actively trying to extend the line but in some cases, they are really an end-of-line. There many reasons why the ancestral lines might end. Large family tree programs such as FamilySearch.org's Family Tree give you a graphic representation of these end of lines and are a constant reminder that you are not "finished" with your research. To get some idea of the reality of these challenges, here are a few reasons for these "end-of-line" situations:

1. The Record Doesn't Exist (or Survive) 

The primary reason a line ends is simple: the necessary record was never created or has been lost to history.

Pre-Standardization: Before the 17th or 18th centuries, government and church record-keeping was inconsistent, especially for common people. If an ancestor didn't own land, pay taxes, or belong to a major institution, they often weren't formally documented.

Destruction: Fires, floods, wars, and simple neglect have destroyed countless documents over centuries. A single fire at a county courthouse can wipe out decades of records, halting every single line that passes through that county.

2. Identity is Fluid 

We rely on stable surnames, but this is a modern concept. In the past, identity could be inconsistent.

Patronymics: In many cultures, the surname changed with every generation (e.g., Sven's son became a new surname), breaking the continuity of the family name we rely on.

Spelling: Low literacy meant clerks spelled names phonetically and variably (e.g., "Smythe," "Smith," "Smyth"). It becomes impossible to prove two differently spelled names refer to the same person without a clear confirming document.

3. The Maiden Name Barrier 

This is the most frequent wall. Historically, records centered on the male head of household.

Once a woman married, her legal identity merged with her husband's, and her crucial birth surname (maiden name) was often omitted from census, death, and probate records.

If you can't find the original marriage record that lists her maiden name, you lose the key needed to unlock her parents and the previous generation, effectively ending that branch of the tree.

This list could go on and on but the ultimate reality is that surviving and accessible documentation ceases to exist. 

Over the many years that I have been involved in the genealogical community, one of the tragedies I frequently observe is when researchers fixate on a single end-of-line.  As the time spent on these unobtainable goals, the stress caused by these repeated searches may even cause a dedicated genealogist to give up research altogether. 

The reality of this situation is that the number of your ancestors is exponential. Overly focusing on one ancestor is literally a waste of time. 

In American history, the majority of all people arriving in the American colonies between 1620 and the mid-1700s were non-free, arriving either as enslaved people, indentured servants, or transported convicts. Historians estimate that between 50% and 75% of all immigrants during the colonial period—both European and African—arrived without full freedom. See the following citations.

“Digital History.” Accessed October 30, 2025. https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtid=2&psid=449.

Ruymbeke, Bertrand Van. “North America: Migrations and Settlement, c. 1600–c. 1810.” In The Cambridge History of Global Migrations: Volume 1: Migrations, 1400–1800, edited by Cátia Antunes and Eric Tagliacozzo, vol. 1. The Cambridge History of Global Migrations. Cambridge University Press, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108767095.032.

Salmon, Emily Jones. “Convict Labor during the Colonial Period.” Encyclopedia Virginia, n.d. Accessed October 30, 2025. https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/convict-labor-during-the-colonial-period/.

“Stories of Diversity in Colonial Massachusetts.” Accessed October 30, 2025. https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/commonwealth-museum/exhibits/online/diversity-colonial-massachusetts/diversity-colonial-massachusetts-7.htm.

Wikipedia. “Indentured servitude in British America.” October 27, 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Indentured_servitude_in_British_America&oldid=1319051390.

There are many more sources. This is only one reason why your ancestor might have magically appeared in America or some where else.

Many, if not most, of the people who fall into these categories have almost no history to research. DNA testing can sometimes give a lead into further research, but sometimes the DNA results are inconclusive. 

If you find yourself in this situation, you may wish to start researching other people. Stressing over this reality is futile. Take some time to learn about your other ancestors. 

Now, before you decide I don't know what I am writing about, if your ancestral lines ends with you or your parents, i would suggest a DNA test and at least one family tree on a major genealogical website or even more than one with a family tree. This is one of the best ways to get started. 

Can AI Images and Text Ever Be U.S. Copyright Protected?

generate an image representing copyright

NOTE: For years, I have either been using my own images or public domain images from the internet. Since the ruling in Thaler v. Perlmutter, No. 23-5233 (D.C. Cir. March 18, 2025). https://media.cadc.uscourts.gov/opinions/docs/2025/03/23-5233.pdf I have been using generated images because of the time it takes me to find officially public domain images and the large number of websites that stick a copyright claim on public domain images. 

This case established that an artwork created entirely by an artificial intelligence system, which Dr. Stephen Thaler called the "Creativity Machine," cannot be registered for a copyright because the Copyright Act of 1976 requires a human being to be the author. The opinion was issued on March 18, 2025 (Thaler v. Perlmutter, 2025). Dr. Thaler has since filed a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari to the Supreme Court, asking the Court to take the case, but the Supreme Court has not yet issued a decision or a denial.

Here is the actual wording of the case:

We affirm the denial of Dr. Thaler’s copyright application.  The Creativity Machine cannot be the recognized author of a copyrighted work because the Copyright Act of 1976 requires all eligible work to be authored in the first instance by a human being.  Given that holding, we need not address the Copyright Office’s argument that the Constitution itself requires human authorship of all copyrighted material.  Nor do we reach Dr. Thaler’s argument that he is the work’s author by virtue of making and using the Creativity Machine because that argument was waived before the agency. 

Granted that the Supreme Court could modify or reverse the district court's ruling but given the quantity of internet or generated slop (like my image above) I doubt that the Supreme Court will allow all or even most of it to copyright protected. There is also another major issue. The generative ability of tools such as Photoshop using Nano Banana achieve resolution and quality that makes identifying generated images extremely difficult. In addition, there is the whole genre of "illustration" where the quality and use of the images does not warrant preservation or ownership. 

Of course the argument that my prompt "created" the image above but that is a weak legal argument. It is not the causation of image event that determines the exact content of generated images. Here is another image generated using exactly the same prompt. The first image above was generated by Google Gemini. This image was generated by Adobe Firefly. By the way, the Gemini image is watermarked (the icon in the lower right hand corner). Here is the prompt: generate an image representing copyright.

Generated images from Adobe Firefly are watermarked, but whether you see a visible watermark depends on your subscription: Free users will have a visible Adobe Firefly watermark on their downloaded or exported images. Paid subscribers (such as those with a Firefly Premium or Adobe Express Premium plan) can download their creations without the visible watermark. Regardless of the user's plan, Adobe also automatically applies Content Credentials—invisible metadata that confirms the image was created using Adobe Firefly, promoting transparency about its AI origin.

So, what about the question in the title to this post? Presently, U.S. copyright law does not automatically impose a copyright on all works. For a work to be protected by copyright, it must meet three fundamental criteria:

• Originality: It must be an independent creation of the author and possess at least a minimal degree of creativity.
• Authorship: It must be created by a human author (works created solely by nature or by AI without human input are generally not copyrightable).
• Fixation: It must be "fixed in a tangible medium of expression." This means it must be captured in a form that can be perceived, reproduced, or communicated (e.g., written down, recorded, saved as a digital file).

There is no requirement that the work be identified as copyright protected such as using the copyright symbol above. However, other countries, besides the U.S., may impose different requirements. 

For the time being, we await the Supreme Court's ruling in the Thaler case. 

What's New with MyHeritage Fall 2025

 

https://blog.myheritage.com/2025/10/myheritage-upgrades-its-dna-tests-to-whole-genome-sequencing/

MyHeritag.com has been busy the past few weeks. The major announcement was the release of an upgraded DNA test to use Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS). Here is a summary of the content of the announcement from the blog post, "MyHeritage Upgrades Its DNA Tests to Whole Genome Sequencing."

• MyHeritage has announced a major upgrade to its DNA testing, transitioning from the traditional genotyping array technology to Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS). This move makes them the first major consumer DNA testing company to adopt this comprehensive method on a large scale.
• Previously, MyHeritage's tests examined about 700,000 base pairs of DNA; now, using WGS, they read virtually the entire human genome, about 3 billion base pairs. They achieve this efficiently through a technique called low-pass sequencing with 2x coverage, which, when combined with a statistical method known as imputation, is both highly accurate for genealogy and affordable for customers.
• The primary benefit for users will be greater accuracy in both DNA Matches and Ethnicity Estimates. Furthermore, this foundation will allow MyHeritage to develop new and exciting genetic genealogy products in the future. Importantly, this significant technological leap comes at no additional cost to consumers and is implemented with the same strict standards for privacy and data security.
• The rollout is already underway, with WGS being used for most new MyHeritage DNA kits and set to become the exclusive processing method by the end of 2025. While previously tested kits won't be reprocessed, MyHeritage plans to re-analyze all existing data in their database once the WGS database grows, which will ultimately lead to better results for all users.

I have already seen a significat upgrade to my ethnicity estimate and I would expect further changes and perhaps more DNA matches. 

MyHeritage.com has also announced two new webinar series to be hosted on Legacy Family Tree Webinars. The webinar series will be in French and Spanish. You can find the webinars by searching for all the upcoming webinars on the Legacy Family Tree website and choosing the filters in either French or Spanish. See https://familytreewebinars.com/upcoming-webinars/?language=french

Here are summaries of both series' upcoming webinars. 

The MyHeritage Spanish webinar series, or Seminarios Web, is a valuable, free educational resource designed to guide Spanish-speaking users through the fascinating world of genealogy and family history research.

The series provides step-by-step instruction on how to effectively use the powerful MyHeritage platform. Topics cover the essentials, such as:

• Building Your Family Tree: Learning how to start and grow your tree with ease (Plantando un Árbol Genealógico).

• Searching Historical Records: Mastering the advanced search engine to find ancestors in billions of records (Cómo Encontrar Registros Históricos).

• DNA Interpretation: Understanding how to use genetic and genealogical tools like DNA Matches and AutoClusters for new discoveries.

• Photo Restoration: Utilizing MyHeritage’s unique tools to colorize and restore old family photos (Colorear y Restaurar Fotos).

In short, it's a comprehensive library of expert-led classes—all in Spanish—to help users worldwide uncover, document, and share their family stories.

MyHeritage, through its Legacy Family Tree Webinars platform, has launched an exciting new French-language webinar series tailored for French speakers around the world. This initiative expands their educational offerings, adding a live series to the more than 100 French-language sessions already available on demand.

The series kicked off with three free live sessions focusing on French and Luxembourg genealogy:

1. The first session, "Filae : la maison des archives originales françaises," with Yann Guillerm, focused on the holdings of Filae. This webinar, which took place on Tuesday, October 7, 2025, has already passed.

2. The second session, "Explorer vos racines en France : méthodes et ressources en ligne avec les collections de MyHeritage," with Marie Cappart, explored methods and MyHeritage resources for French roots. This webinar, held on Tuesday, October 21, 2025, has also passed.

3. The next and final of the initially announced free sessions is "Explorer vos racines au Luxembourg : archives locales et ressources MyHeritage," with Liliane Hierro, focusing on Luxembourg ancestry and MyHeritage collections. This session is scheduled for Tuesday, November 4, 2025, at 2 P.M. GMT / 10 A.M. EST.

A Look at the RootsTech 2026 Website

 

https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/

RootsTech 2026 is coming up quickly. As I have mentioned before, one of the major event hotels in Salt Lake City, Utah, the Plaza Hotel, is being demolished begining November 1st. This is the hotel across the street to the north from the Salt Palace where the RootsTech Conference is being held March 5th through 7th. Parking and hotel accommodations in downtown in Salt Lake are at a premium and you should make arrangements as soon as possible. 

The RootsTech 2026 website is divided into several sections. Here is an outline of the Main Sections and events:

The website centers on the RootsTech Conference, which is advertised as the world's largest family history conference, offering both free online access and in-person attendance in Salt Lake City.

Key elements of the event and other sections include:

• Registration Information: Details and pricing for attending the upcoming event, differentiating between the free Online experience and the paid Salt Lake City in-person pass.

• Expo Hall: Information on the vendor hall for sponsors and exhibitors.

• Watch Videos: A link to the extensive content library from previous conferences.

• Mini Events: A section dedicated to smaller, related events.

• Contact Us/FAQ: Support and general information for attendees.

• FamilySearch Connect: Links to related FamilySearch tools like Build Your Family Tree and Together App.

---

Content & Learning Library Topics

The website highlights a large learning library with hundreds of classes and sessions that are open year-round, covering a wide range of genealogy and family discovery subjects.

The topics you can discover in the library include:

Category	Topics Included
Research Methods	Analysis, Archival Research, Methodology, Organizing Research, General Research, Research Aids, Record Types, Compiled Sources.
Specialized Genealogy	DNA, Ethnic Research, Immigration, Latter-day Saint (LDS) sessions, Law and Ethics.
Tools & History	Artificial Intelligence (AI), Tools, Websites, and Organizations, History.
Discovery & Heritage	Discovery and Heritage, Activities, Photos and Stories, Preserving Your Story, Strengthening Family.
Professional Development	Becoming a Professional.
Inspiration	Inspiration, Keynote Sessions, and Main Stage Forums (Innovation, Tech, and Impact).

Registration is now open at a discount. Sometimes, there is a later discount given closer to the conference. 

Three difficult issues with the FamilySearch.org Full-text Search

 

https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/full-text/

Full-text search is having an ever increasing impact on the entire FamilySearch.org website. The discoveries made are extraordinary. See "Making Amazing Genealogy Discoveries With FamilySearch Full-Text Search" for a quick introduction. However, in the course of making this short video, I discovered two inconsistent issues. 

The first two issues are fairly straight forward. If I make a search for a paticular person, such as this one:

I will get a list of possible matching records. I must say that the list of matching records is extremely valuable and helpful. However, I am stuck if I want to modify the search. Here are the results.

There are two deeds I am interested in but if I want to modify the search, the search field has disappeared and I find that I have to start over completely if I click back to the search field. The fields will be blank. If I use the back arrow I will lose the first list of sources. There needs to be a way to preserve the first list without opening a new window and starting all over again for each variation in the search. 

The second issue is that assuming I click on the first deed source and want to attach it to my person in the Family Tree, I will see this menu bar. 

With the "paper clip icon" to go to the process for attachment. But if I click on the second deed in blue on the list, and close the side bar, I get a different menu bar entirely for attaching the record to the Family Tree person. 

The third issue is that I also have no way to return to the transcription except to go back through the whole process from the beginning. 

These three issues make me go through the process over and over again. If I slightly change the search terms during the process, I would have to repeat all the searches to get the different results from previous searches. 

It took me a while to figure out that I would be constantly repeating searches unless I kept opening new windows for the results of each variation in the search. 

Another new Rule of Genealogy for 2025: Rule #17

Rule #17 of the Rules of Genealogy 

Where life happened, records remain

 While I was working on a video for the BYU Library Family History Center, I ran across this generated image which was summarizing my text prompt and one of the slides I was working onl I liked the images and realized that the caption was an interesting short statement of my much longer slide information. So, I decided to adopt it as a way to express a general Rule of Genealogy. The longer statement is as follows:

Genealogical research depend on valuable genealogical records that were recorded by someone who witnessed the event or had a duty to report it and at or near the places where events occurred in your ancestors' lives. Generally, all genealogical records are tied to the location where the events occurred and the records were created. So to use the shorter statement: "Where life happens, records remain."

There may be an apparent small conflict with Rule Six: Records Move, but the two rules actually address two different issues about the same records. Once a record is created, it may physically be stored at a place that is remote from the place of origin but the record is almost certain to be indexed, stored, and organized with reference to the location where the records were created. This new rule, "Where life happens, records remain" addressed the connection between where the events occurred and the creation of the record. Therefore, all records of a person's life are existentially related to the life of the person who is subjectively related. 

It is fairly common for genealogists to forget the surrounding circustances of the record's creation when researching various types of genealogically valuable records. What was happening at the time the record was created may have determined whether the record was made in the first instance or determined where and when the record was preserved. 

A good example of this rule concerns a variety of records in Latin America held by FamilySearch.org but not available to search or restricted for a variety of reasons. I have written about this before. See The FamilySearch Double Bind. The more I think about this new Rule of Genealogy, the more impact I can see on the way people do genealogical research and they way they record the records they find and use the records they find. Genealogists break the new rule when they keep looking over and over for records for the same person without finding any records or very few records. These repetitious searches violate both the new rule #17, and the older rule #6. Over time, as I contemplate the ramifications of this new rule, I believe that the new rule will move up in importance. The connection between life events and the records that become part of the fundamental issues of genealogical research. 

Here is a list of the previous rules for your convenience.

Rule One: When the baby was born, the mother was there.

Rule Two: Absence of an obituary or death record does not mean the person is still alive.

Rule Three: Every person who ever lived has a unique birth order and a unique set of biological parents.

Rule Four: There are always more records.

Rule Five: You cannot get blood out of a turnip.

Rule Six: Records move.

Rule Seven: Water and genealogical information flow downhill.

Rule Eight: Everything in genealogy is connected (butterfly).

Rule Nine: There are patterns everywhere.

Rule Ten: Read the fine print.

Rule Eleven: Even a perfect fit can be wrong.

Rule Twelve: The end is always there.

Rule Thirteen: Genealogists abhor a blank field.

Rule Fourteen: You are not responsible for what you find.

Rule Fifteen: A fact is not a fact unless you have a record to prove it. 

Rule Sixteen: Gravity always wins 

Finding Records Lost Online in the AI Universe

 

FamilySearch.org's Full-text Search capability is an overwhelming change to way genealogical searches are conducted and may well modify or replace any current way of searching historical documents. At the heart of using a previously unavailable tool for genealogical research is an artificial intelligence supported handwriting recognition. 

Currently, the Full-text Search fields appear to be deceptively simple. 

https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/full-text/

After spending a considerable amount of time trying to understand how to best approach this "simple" form, I found that it was actually the key to finding huge amounts of very specific and relevant documents on practically any subject. The key to understanding how to search is based on the concept that "less is more." The idea for starting your search is to use general terms and then modify the search terms to be more specific as you see the results of a series of searches. Here is an example. 

The first search term is obviously very general and generates a huge number of responses. Using the Keywords entry, I put in the word "cemetery."

The search results in already millions of records from all over the world. The next step is also simple. I merely add the location to the cemetery word using suggested Search Tip of a plus sign. I also put the location I am searching in quotes to limit the search to a specific place. 

The next step is to enter a surname in the Name search field. 

The results are interesting but still quite extensive. One more change will bring the number down significantly, adding the given name with the name in quotes.

The total number of results here is still significant, but reflects the fact that there really are that many records with Myron Tanner's name. He was one of the Mayors of Provo, Utah. But as you do this, note the variety of the records produced and the possiblity for finding previously unknown information. 

You can also try a number of other variations in the search pattern, the variations in names, and places. 

I am sure you will find some unexpected results. Remember, FamilySearch has only been adding records for a relatively short time so you may not find any records yet in those already processed but millions of records are being added every week so keep trying from time to time. 

Nutrioso, an extreme example of Full-text search

It may not yet occurred to you, but FamilySearch.org's Full-text Search can do a lot more than merely search for names. 

Nutrioso, Arizona, is a small, unincorporated community with a history deeply tied to early settlement in the American Southwest. Before permanent settlement, the area was a site for temporary encampments for indigenous groups, particularly during the summer and autumn. The town's name is derived from the Spanish words "nutria" (beaver) and "oso" (bear), as the first settlers reportedly found and hunted these animals in the valley. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutrioso,_Arizona

If your ancestors lived in a small town, it is entirely possible that there were intermarriaged and shared history. The entry above shows the FamilySearch Full-text search response using "Nutrioso" as a key word and producing 3,959 records with that word. The responses include some of the following record types even though FamilySearch is just beginning to process the entire website. This is just a partial list.

• Birth, Death, and Marriage records
• Newspaper articles
• Family Group Records
• Genealogies
• Pedigree Referal Service
• Family Histories
• Homestead Final Certificates, Land Entry Case Files Arizon, Prescott
• Articles of Incorporation of the Amity Irrigation Company
• Our Tenney family heritage
• Apache County. Tax Assessment Records 1882
• Apache County, Arizona Voting Registers 1892

As you look at this list, consider the issue of knowing that these records even existed for Nutrioso. But the next step is to add a surname to the search. So, I searched for the key word "Nutrioso" and the "Jarvis" surname. My maternal great-grandmother was a Jarvis and the Jarvis family lived for a time in Nutrioso. I did not put in a place or any dates. 

Here is another list showing additional references to Nutrioso and some to my Great-great-grandfather Charles Godfrey DeFriez Jarvis. Here is one of the records that showed that my Great-great-grandfather Charles Godfrey DeFriez Jarvis was acting as the County Recorder for Apache County in 1892. I did not know this but it might be in my Great-grandmother, Margaret Godfrey Jarvis Overson's book. 

Stay tuned for a flood of additional information that can and will be discovered using the Full-text search on FamilySearch.org.

Coalition for Responsible AI in Genealogy: Education

 CRAIGEN.org

Education

The use of AI creates new opportunities and risks. Therefore, members of the genealogical community educate themselves about AI to maximize its benefits and minimize its risks to their work.

For all the years I was an active, practicing, attorney in Arizona, I had to take 15 hours of Continuing Legal Education (CLE) and at least three of those hours had to be professional responsibility/ethics. These were in person or online classes. However, I also had to do a considerable amount of self-education because every legal case I took had its own facts and supporting case law. If I wanted to continue practicing my profession, I had to maintain both the compulsory education and serious, necessary self-education. 

When I first began investigating my own genealogy, 43 years ago, I was totally unaware of any educational opportunities for learning about how to proceed with my own genealogical research. I was not aware of anyone around me who was involved in genealogy, certainly, not in my family or close associates. Of course, in 1982 when I began, the internet was still year away for its "birthdate" on January 1, 1983 when ARPANET adopted the TCP/IP protocol, allowing diverse networks to "talk" to each other and forming the foundation of the modern Internet. The development continued with the World Wide Web in 1991 and user-friendly browsers like Mosaic in 1993, which led to the Internet's mainstream public adoption. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Internet.

I quickly began to realize my lack of experience and education despite three college level degrees, a B.A., an M.A. and a J.D. Fortunately for my own realization of the need for education, there were books. However, I spent the first few years unaware of any genealogists, genealogical societies, or Family History Centers. The first step I took towards my formal genealogical education was with the following book. 

Greenwood, Val D. 1978. The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy. Baltimore: Genealogical Publ. Co.

Over the years, I also discovered the following books. 

Filby, P. William. 1984. The Source : A Guidebook of American Genealogy. Edited by Arlene H. Eakle and Johni Cerny. Salt Lake City, Utah: Ancestry Publishing Company.

Herber, Mark D and Society of Genealogists (Great Britain). Ancestral Trails: The Complete Guide to British Genealogy and Family History. Genealogical Pub. Co., Inc, 1998.

And many others. As time passed and as I began to obtain an idea about the complexities of genealogical research, I decided to take distance learning family history classes from Brigham Young University. I took classes for about five years and these were the hardest classes I had experienced even with all my past formal education (including law school). 

Eventually, my practical education began when I volunteered to work at the Mesa Multi-Stake Family History Center in Mesa, Arizona. I am still spending most of my time learning and helping others to learn. 

So, now you might begin to understand why I think Education is one of the guiding principles for responsible AI in genealogy. The key words in the Education Guiding Principal are "members of the genealogical community educate themselves." Enough said. Now, you can learn all you can stand by asking one of the chatbots how to do genealogical research and keep asking. 

How do we know what is real in Genealogy?

 

Genealogy is history and history is genealogy. Another way of putting that statement is following statement by Thomas Carlyle:

Before Philosophy can teach by Experience, the Philosophy has to be in readiness, the Experience must be gathered and intelligibly recorded. Now, overlooking the former consideration, and with regard only to the latter, let anyone who has examined the current of human affairs, and how intricate, perplexed, unfathomable, even when seen into with our own eyes, are their thousand-fold blending movements, say whether the true representing of it is easy or impossible. Social Life is the aggregate of all the individual men's Lives who constitute society; History is the essence of innumerable Biographies. But if one Biography, nay, our own Biography, study and recapitulate it as we may, remains in so many points unintelligible to us, how much more must these million, the very facts of which, to say nothing of the purport of them, we know not, and cannot know! 

Carlyle, Thomas, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Critical and Miscellaneous Essays. With Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection. Philadelphia : A. Hart, 1852. http://archive.org/details/criticalmiscella00incarl. 

Our perception of history can never be entirely true because it is an interpretation of incomplete past evidence, influenced by our biases, perspectives, and the agendas of the people who recorded it, often leading to the proverb "history is written by the victors". In addition, we struggle with historical accuracy as we work backward in time. 

One example of our varying view of history that I have written about several times in the past, is readily apparent from the entries in the FamilySearch.org Family Tree about the approximately 53 passengers of the Mayflower who survived the first winter. See The Mayflower Passengers. 

You can see from this screenshot and if you go to view Francis Cooke LZ2F-MM7, that his "history" changes almost daily despite the existence of extensive documentation from The General Society of Mayflowere Descendants. See also Mayflower Lineage Match. 

We are now living in an age where a "New Reality" can be generated in moment of time. I only have a few photographs of my great-grand father Henry Martin Tanner born in 1852 and died in 1935. Here is one of the photos of him on his 80th birthday in 1932 shortly before he died. 

Today, I can now see that same image in color! 

Of course, we might want to know that Color photography was invented in 1861 by James Clerk Maxwell and Thomas Sutton, but it didn't become widely available to the public until the late 1930s with the introduction of films like Kodachrome and Agfacolor. It is almost certain that this photo was not originally in color but using a readily available photo editing software you can add color. 

In addition, I can ask Google Gemini to generate an image of Henry when he was 80 years old. 

If I did not have the original photo, how could I tell if the newly generated photo was real or not? I could also keep generating additional photos of Henry until I got one I liked. 

This photo shows him standing in his "Tanner Homestad" in Gilbert, AZ, with cactus and all. Which of these images is real? Just in case you are wondering here is the same Gilbert, AZ photo in color. 

If you look in the lower right hand corner of the photos, you will see the Google Gemini mark that signals that these extra photos were AI generated. 

Think about this issue of reality. Aren't the hundreds or thousands of changes to Francis Cooke and the other Mayflower passengers just as unreal as the generated photos of Henry Tanner? Do we really need to get into deep philosophical discussions about reality or can we live with citing historical sources and being content with actual history?

By the way, here is photo of Gilbert, Arizona in the early 1930s from the Gilbert Historical Museum. 

https://www.azcentral.com/picture-gallery/news/local/gilbert/2014/07/25/historic-gilbert-photos/10169323/

Let's start thinking more about what is real and supported by contemporary historical documents and records and less about trying to get our perceptions of the past to be established as "reality."