The Artificial Intelligence tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, Meta, CoPilot, GenSpark and Perplexity can provide much useful and nearly instant information about subjects in a concise format, especially when they have been pre-trained on a large volume of information about the subjects. Mark Thompson, one of the two experts on The Family History AI Show podcast , has created a number of custom prompts and they are available for researchers to use to help their understanding and use of AI.
Here is one of my family historical photographs:. The prompt and photo elicited this response from ChatGPT This is a fascinating historical photograph, likely from the late 19th or early 20th century, showing a San Diego family posing in front of their home.
Below is a detailed analysis of the image. Large wooden two-story house with Victorian design elements. The house features a hipped roof, a wraparound porch with decorative trim, and a rooftop railingβelements typical of late 19th-century Victorian architecture. The mix of horizontal and vertical siding also suggests this era.
Handwritten inscription: "H. This suggests that the house is located at the corner of 30th and Hawthorn Street in San Diego, likely owned or lived in by H. The handwriting appears to be from the same period as the photo. Family members positioned in front of the house. This was a common practice in early photography, where families proudly posed with their homes. Their body language suggests formality but also a sense of pride in their property. Clothing suggests late 19th century.
The woman in the foreground wears a long dress with a high collar and puffed sleeves, typical of the s. The man in the center wears a three-piece suit, common for formal portraits of this era. Horse-drawn carriage on the left. Indicates the pre-automobile era, reinforcing the estimated date of the image. The presence of a carriage suggests the family had some level of wealth.
