Author | Lightnews

Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · Sep 12

I can't believe that I've got a chance to have a whole crew of genealogy experts research my family tree. This is going to be a blast! Thanks @wikitree.bsky.social !

WikiTree @wikitree.bsky.social · Sep 11

🚀 Challenge 8 STARTS NOW!
www.wikitree.com/g2g/1929301
Join our Noon EDT Zoom to see collaborative genealogy magic happen with Mark Thompson's family tree.
Let's grow those connections together!
#WTChallenge #CollaborativeGenealogy @makingfamilyhistory.com

2

Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · Sep 2

Thanks for the reminder. I had forgotten about this!

1

Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · Aug 7

Yes, it’s going to be very difficult to do reliable model testing and comparisons with OpenAI. To say “I did this with ChatGPT 5” doesn’t really mean anything. And, the “I like the cite stuff” crowd is now even one step further from reproducibility.

Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · Feb 11

Yearning for a deep dive into Norwegian church records? Join expert genealogist, and President of Scandinavian Family Research, Torhild Shirley, for a virtual workshop on Feb 15, 10am PT. Hosted by the Victoria Genealogical Society for $21CAD (~$15US/Euro).

victoriags.org/content.aspx...

5

Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · Feb 6

I'm excited to offer 'Excel for Family Archivists' on Feb 22 - one of my favourite topics! If you have a hard time keeping track of the photos, documents, and heirlooms you hold for your extended family, this workshop will help you preserve them (and your sanity!).

victoriags.org/content.aspx...

Woman using Excel to keep track of her photos

12

Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · Feb 1

Thanks Andrew! It was fabulous to have you join @digitalarchivst.bsky.social and I for the AI seminar today. What an awesome day. We'll have to do it again soon!

2 2

Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · Jan 26

I can’t believe I didn’t think of that!

1

Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · Jan 12

My wife and I watched the show last night. It was fantastic! We both had a couple of full-on belly laughs at the portrayal of "the genealogy nerd." Let's just say... it bore striking similarity to some conversations that have happened in our house. :-)

1

Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · Dec 26

Few truly understand the tools and techniques that they use; from food supply through to air travel. So, they rely on people they “trust” and rules of thumb that they acquire through their own inexpert experience. This works poorly for new tools. It’s called the “bleeding edge” for a reason.

2

Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · Dec 23

Clearly, where all the cool kids are hanging out!

1 5

Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · Dec 12

Oh my. Time to clean out the cabinets. Maybe even a fire sale, by which I mean... start a big bonfire in the backyard kind of fire sale. :-)

1

Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · Dec 12

For what it's worth, I still go for the add-on DVD/Bluray player. Although, I can't remember the last time I put something in it. Maybe it is a cup holder, afterall?

1 1

Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · Dec 12

I distinctly remember when a media player became an add on to the base model computer. I've got to admit, even as a citizen of the 'net, I was a bit surprised.

1 1

Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · Dec 12

It's weird that a vast array of recording options is contributing to the loss of so much of what was recorded. 78s, 45s, super 8s, cassette, betamax, VHS, to name just a few, are getter harder and harder to find playback devices for. How long before they are "lost"? Digitize and share now!

J. Rohr @jackblankhsh.bsky.social · Dec 11

Vanishing tech is one of the oddest problems in historical preservation... the 20th century saw a mass proliferation in means to record so much of existence from every day ordinary to the epic yet that evidence of events is vanishing for myriad reasons... which is why the Internet Archive matters.

Internet Archive @archive.org · Dec 11

And why is it important to preserve 78s? According to audio archivist George Blood, "To remember half of recorded history, it is important to preserve 78rpm discs."

Read the rest of George's essay on 78 preservation: blog.archive.org/2024/08/26/v...

🕳️ #VanishingCulture

2 1 14

Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · Dec 12

Probate documents can be golden! Glad that hear that you're finding good info. The handwriting isn't too painful, I hope. :-)

1 1

Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · Dec 11

I can access it on the mobile app, but the website is dead to me!

2 1

Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · Dec 11

There will definitely be a "which tools are best for what" session!

Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · Dec 11

Did Facebook just fall down, go boom?

1 3

Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · Dec 11

It makes so much sense, especially once someone else thought of it. :-) Very insightful on their part!

Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · Dec 10

OpenAI made programming easier today! ChatGPT can now create, edit, and run Python scripts—perfect for quick data cleanup or analysis tasks, without the need to setup a development environment.

#FamilyHistoryNerds will love this. Coding just got more accessible for everyone. #AI #CodingForAll

5

Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · Dec 10

The research focuses on identifying the most impactful portion of the context window on the LLM's response. Even though they don't go after the source, it's just a short step from where they left off to try to do a web search for the source material. I can see someone else picking it up from here!

1

Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · Dec 10

OpenAI just expanded the "Canvas" feature in ChatGPT. It now works with more models *and* integrates with CustomGPTs. It’s a game-changer for anyone using AI for research or writing support! Edit directly in a Canvas window—by prompt or by keyboard. Skip the copy-paste-a-palooza!

3

Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · Dec 10

Thankfully, several of the chatbots can now identify the sources of the research that they do on your behalf. Perplexity.ai has provided sources for a while now, and GPTSearch (built into ChatGPT) started doing this last month. You can now research with confidence now... but, check those sources!

1

Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · Dec 10

Innovative research into ways to identify the source of the training data behind an LLM's response. Very cool approach!

news.mit.edu/2024/citatio...

Citation tool offers a new approach to trustworthy AI-generated content

The ContextCite tool from MIT CSAIL can find the parts of external context that a language model used to generate a statement. Users can easily verify the model’s response, making the tool useful in f...

news.mit.edu

2 5

Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · Dec 10

Reminds me of how I felt at the end of two days researching at the Family Search Library last year. Absolutely gassed!

2