On Wednesday, December 10, 2025, at 8:00 pm ET, five leading genealogists will show you the map they’ve drawn from real experience:
- Ashley Bens, professional AI researcher and AI educator, workflow specialist
- Blaine Bettinger, founder of The Genetic Genealogist and “Genealogy and Artificial Intelligence”
- Kristin Britanik, digitization expert and Legacy Tree senior genealogical researcher
- Bryna O’Sullivan, professional genealogist and French-to-English genealogical translator
- David Rencher, NGS President and Chief Genealogical Officer at FamilySearch
You’ll hear from AI enthusiasts, cautious practitioners, and thoughtful skeptics. They don’t all agree—and that’s the point.
Each will share one case where AI added genuine value and one where it introduced risk, using actual records and workflows. Then we’ll explore the patterns, the boundaries, and the questions that matter most.
What You’ll Learn
You’ll see exactly:
- Where AI excels (summarization, pattern recognition, workflow acceleration) and where it fails catastrophically (hallucinations, fabricated citations, demographic bias)
- How to verify AI output using genealogical standards: the Genealogical Proof Standard, proper citation, correlation across sources
- Real examples: hear how AI transcribed a handwritten letter with stunning accuracy—then completely misread the next one, and how it was caught
- Practical “green light / yellow light / red light” guidance for common genealogical tasks
The format:
- Lightning rounds (~35 min): Success and failure stories from each panelist
- Moderated roundtable (~35 min): Exploring common themes, honest differences, and deeper questions
- Live Q&A (~20 min): Bring your real-world scenarios and edge cases
Beyond the Practical: The Questions That Matter
And beyond the practical—we’ll explore the questions that thoughtful genealogists are asking:
- What about bias in training data? How do we know AI isn’t perpetuating historical prejudices?
- Where did the training data come from? What about copyright and consent?
- What’s the environmental cost of running these models?
- How do we maintain trust in evidence when AI-generated content becomes indistinguishable from authentic sources?
These aren’t abstract concerns. They’re shaping the future of genealogical practice—and this is the conversation where we address them honestly.
Who Should Attend
Whether you’re an AI enthusiast, a cautious explorer, or a committed skeptic, you’ll gain practical frameworks for evaluating AI tools against genealogical standards. This session is for working genealogists, family historians, educators, and anyone responsible for guiding others on AI adoption.
Register Now
Register Now – Free via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/Jc69ZTCBTqm50m54sD1_dQ#/registration
Wednesday, December 10, 2025 | 8:00–9:30 pm ET
About the Series
This is the first event in “Navigating the AI Frontier,” a new series by Steve Little presented in partnership with the National Genealogical Society.
Steve Little is a genealogist and AI educator, founder of AI Genealogy Insights, co-host of The Family History AI Show podcast, and AI Program Director for the National Genealogical Society. He specializes in standards-first applications of AI in genealogy, with particular focus on genetic genealogy, complex relationships, and responsible AI adoption.
Key Themes
Evidence over hype • Standards over speed • Honest assessment over marketing claims
© 2025 Steve Little | AI Genealogy Insights | AIGenealogyInsights.com
