Report: “How the National Archives (NARA) is Using AI To Make Records More Accessible in the Digital Age”

From GeekWire:

Colleen Shogan, the Archivist of the United States, discussed the National Archives‘ digital transition and use of artificial intelligence as part of a broader public conversation Thursday evening at the Seattle Public Library, led by Brad Smith, the Microsoft president, and organized by the National Archives Foundation.

• The National Archives is training an AI bot to extract the DD-214 forms that summarize a person’s military record from large digital files, freeing up staff to work on more complicated requests.
• To streamline responses to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, the National Archives is in the early stages of working to implement AI to automatically redact personally identifiable information.
• For the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026, the Archives is working with Microsoft to develop an interactive exhibit that will provide a personalized experience using AI. Visitors’ interests will be used to recommend relevant records to them.
• The Archives is experimenting with different ways to adapt to new digital platforms. For example, when the Emancipation Proclamation was on display for Juneteenth, the Archives invited social media influencers create videos about it for platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter.

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Filed under: Archives and Special Collections, Libraries, News, Public Libraries