Something old, something new, something borrowed: uses of AI in genealogical research and family memory

Abstract (English)

This paper discusses the uses of artificial intelligence and other digital technologies in amateur genealogical research. It is based on ethnographic research on three commercial genealogy websites, examining the artificial intelligence technologies offered and proposed on these platforms in order to analyze their uses and the representations of the past that are elaborated from them. We look at existing algorithmic biases, but also at the interaction between technology and imagination in people's relationship with their ancestors, as well as with different places and times