The latest episode was posted on 27 August, although it was recorded a week earlier. Find it here.

Here’s what Mark Thompson and Steve Little cover.

AI In the News:

02:57: Microsoft Bing’s Deep Search: Microsoft introduces Deep Search, a new feature competing with Perplexity, offering enhanced search capabilities.

13:27: Google’s AI announcements: Google unveils several AI-powered features for Android phones, including voice assistants and image analysis tools.

24:14: Have we entered the post-photography era? The hosts discuss how AI is transforming photography and its implications for genealogists and family historians.

Tip of the Week:

33:55: Building Better Prompts: Role, Goal, Task, Format: The hosts explain a more effective method for crafting prompts when working with AI, emphasizing the importance of clear goal-setting.

RapidFire:

42:35: OpenAI’s DALL-E free access: DALL-E image generation tool available to free-tier users, expanding access to AI-generated imagery.

44:36: Midjourney’s web platform launch: Midjourney releases a more accessible web-based platform for its image generation tool, offering a free trial.

46:01: OpenAI’s safety scorecard: OpenAI releases a safety scorecard, detailing its efforts to ensure responsible AI development and usage.

50:22: Elon Musk’s AI tools release: X launches new AI tools with fewer restrictions, raising ethical concerns and discussions.

I found the content long on AI developments and a bit short on application to genealogy.

At last, I’ve been waiting for this: to unlock hidden discoveries in historical Canadian records that have never been searchable until now. I know I wasn’t the only one waiting.

Go to https://www.familysearch.org/search/full-text

You should see a screen with a search box like this (somewhere along you’ll need to log on with your free FamilySearch account.)

Now search for a keyword. I tried Smith and got 12,262,190 results. Then, against Filters, I selected Place. Clicking on Canada reduced it to 1,080,787 results. Further refining to Ontario yielded 739,316 results. You can further filter by Collection, Year, Place, and Record Type. Click on Apply to see the filtered set.

The collection is not comprehensive. Ontario’s probate has the most records for the decades 1900 to 1920, Geographic coverage is spotty.

There’s a tiny collection of Canadian Homestead (Land) records.

Good job, FamilySearch.

You can now search 9,455,068 Irish birth records on MyHeritage. The collection is a copy of the register of civil birth records from all 32 counties of Ireland between 1864 and 1921, continuing for the Republic of Ireland until 1958.
Records typically include the child’s name, year, place of birth, and mother’s birth name (for records from 1928).

Find out about Irish civil registration records at https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/en/irish-records-what-is-available/civil-records

HostPapa, the company hosting the OGS/Ontario Ancestors websites, will migrate the Society websites to a new infrastructure on Thursday, 29 August 2024.

The OGS website will be placed in maintenance mode at 10 p.m. on 28 August and will be unavailable until the migration is complete – when that will be is not specified. This will apply to all branches and SIGs subsites.

As previously noted, a new Scotland’s People website is coming. Access will be unavailable from 00.01 BST on Sunday, 1 September 1, to 12.00 BST on Tuesday, 3 September.

Why not take a genealogy break over the long weekend?

From the 1901 Atlas of Canada comes this map of Ontario and adjacent Quebec.

A high-resolution version from the David Rumsey Map Collection with a transparency slider to a current map is available here.

The colours indicate the predominant origin, not the birthplace, except in the case of the British, whether the English, Irish or Scotch predominate.  Would DNA analysis show the same pattern?

When visiting The National Archives (TNA) at Kew, there are many opportunities to take a break. Aside from the cafeteria and bookstore in the building, the nearby Kew Retail Park, with Marks and Spencer and Boots, provides a convenient spot for a quick break to pick up essentials.

While Kew is best known for its world-famous gardens, there’s more to discover. The Kew Society offers a walking tour leaflet, which you can download. On the second page, you’ll find a simple map highlighting the 4 km route and various points of interest.

The Thames Path meanders by the river, through or skirting Kew Green, eventually arriving at Kew Village, home to several small, independent shops. Check it out during your next visit to TNA.

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

The Expropriation of LeBreton Flats (1962)
A LAC blog post by Ariane Gauthier with numerous photos.

Greek rhetorical tricks keep audiences spellbound

Air Quality Stripes

Ingenium – Guided Tours
There are only a few days left, Friday through Sunday to 1 September, to take a 75-minute guided tour of various aspects of museum work, telling the stories of some artifacts not normally seen by visitors. Tours at 1865 St. Laurent Blvd cost $12.

Wearables generally underestimate step counts

Thanks to this week’s contributors: Anonymous, Brenda Turner, gail benjafield, Lolly, Maureen, Maureen Amey, Teresa, Unknown.

Ancestry recently updated databases related to death and burial records across various countries.

The “England and Wales, Death Index, 1989-2023” is updated to 7,433,702 records from 7,166,817 records in January. The “Scotland and Northern Ireland, Death Index, 1989-2023” now has 934,558 records, up from 916,681. Both use data compiled from funeral directors’ records and obituaries.

The “Find a Grave® Index” databases have been updated from July. Canada now has 10,570,369, up from 10,499,793.  Other updates are for Brazil, Italy, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Mexico, the United Kingdom and Ireland, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.

Finally, the “UK, Royal Mail Pension and Gratuity Records, 1860-1970” now has 278,726 records, updated from 147,020 when the collection first appeared in January.