Anyone have any genealogical success with any AI browser plug-in?

Question

Specifically, I'm looking for a less confusing way to interact with GEDMatch, and why not use AI? Embrace the future!

Answer 1

I agree GEDMatch can be improved, but not with AI. I don't think AI is ready yet.

Things like ChatGPT will make up something that sounds reasonable based on thousands of similar examples. In genealogy, we're interested in accuracy and correct primary sources, not in something that sounds reasonable.

Comments

Spelling of names could be problematic with genealogical research.  The AI applications I have worked have relied on phonetics.  

I agree definitely with the accuracy challenge as I currently am researching an individual where there are 5 distinct persons with same name, about the same age, all living in the same area but in different households.  Many AI applications would try to merge (a challenge we are trying to overcome today outside of the genealogy world).

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You're misunderstanding what 'AI' is and how to use it.

What you're describing is a flaw of large language models, but just means you shouldn't rely on it for accuracy. Does not mean it is not useful.

For instance, you could use a well-written AutoGPT bot to effectively automate the process of collecting resources from around the web related to your search term. You could then manually vet these.

It can interpret old illegible writing, summarise and clarify historical text. (Which it's much better at doing than trying to determine answers to things)

Answer 2

I gave Perplexity AI the following prompt:  You are an expert genetic genealogist. Please provide an easy to understand and detailed description on how to use gedmatch.com and its free tools.  

Response from Perplexity AI: 

Sources that Perplexity used: 

1. https://www.yourdnaguide.com/ydgblog/gedmatch

2. https://www.gedmatch.com/

3. https://www.familyhistoryfanatics.com/gedmatch-tool-order

4. https://blog.genomelink.io/posts/how-to-use-gedmatch

5. https://www.qbfhs.ca/ten-tips-for-making-the-most-of-gedmatch-com/

6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNTBYRcjmyA

7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3Ziv1i5JFI

8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7pL8SiLmU8

Answer 3

"Perplexity" (thanks for the demo and tips,  T428630).

Not bad, but I'm looking for more of a co-pilot widget than a language synthesizer.

Co-pilots are the more practical application of AI, and there are some pretty slick ones out there. In a matter of time, there'll be an awesome one on GEDMatch, too.