AI in the Archives: Using Artificial Intelligence to Reimagine History

Catalog description

What happens when machines try to “imagine” the past? How do AI systems “learn” from historical data, and what are some risks of using incomplete or biased archives? Whose memory is being preserved, and whose is being overwritten, when we use AI to “restore” history? This course explores the intersection of artificial intelligence, history, and cultural memory. Students examine how AI technologies such as text generation, image synthesis, and data modeling are transforming the ways we reconstruct, represent, and remember history—particularly for communities whose archives were erased or fragmented by colonialism. Through hands-on projects and critical reflection, students will experiment with digital storytelling tools to reimagine lost voices, ancestral spaces, and untold stories, while engaging deeply with questions of ethics, authorship, and representation.