Introducing the PhotoDater: a groundbreaking tool recently launched by MyHeritage, an Israel-based genealogy platform that allows users to delve into their family history using photographs, historical records, and genetic data.
To utilize this tool, all you need is a free MyHeritage account. Currently available on desktop, it will soon be accessible on the mobile app as well.
The PhotoDater algorithm has been trained on a vast collection of definitively dated historical photos spanning from 1860 to 1990. By analyzing this extensive dataset, the AI has learned to identify specific characteristics associated with different time periods, such as clothing, hairstyles, facial hair, furniture, and other objects.
With remarkable accuracy, the PhotoDater can estimate the year a photograph was taken. In fact, it has been found that this tool can provide an estimation within five years of the actual date approximately 60% of the time. Each estimate is accompanied by a confidence level and a margin of error in years.
This is just one example of how AI is revolutionizing our understanding of the past. In 2020, a YouTuber used AI to restore the world’s oldest-known surviving film footage, a short film called Roundhay Garden Scene shot in 1888.
AI is also playing a crucial role in academic research on human history. For instance, scientists recently utilized AI to discover a series of “Nazca Line” geoglyphs that were created in the deserts of southern Peru thousands of years ago.
AI is propelling us into the future at an astonishing pace, while simultaneously providing invaluable insights into our past.
