Artificial Intelligence as a Digital Historian: Capabilities and Limitations in Historical Interpretation

Abstract

Abstract: With this paper we are examining Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a “digital historian” and its potentials, limitations and challenges related to historical interpretation. Qualitative thematic analysis of 29 selected academic sources was used to explore the use of AI in historiography. Overall, the findings indicate that AI can be a valuable tool for historical research, as it can help analyze large amounts of text, detect patterns, and streamline the process of managing and processing historical data. These strengths enable historians to be able to work with large and complex quantities of data, which would not be possible using traditional approaches.The study does, however, reveal some important constraints, such as problems with the quality of the data, algorithmic bias, misinterpretations in context, and shallow interpretation. It also emphasizes methodological and epistemological issues about the trustworthiness of AI productions and the capacity of machine analysis to match the human historical thinking. The main thing that comes across is the tension between the objective of the computer and the subjective nature of historical interpretation.The study argues that AI should be seen as a complement, not a substitute, for human historians, and the employment of AI needs to be carefully considered in the field of digital humanities