Historians

Many tasks that need deep understanding or creativity are not automated at all. Cross-checking facts, judging authenticity, and writing historical narratives remain human jobs. In fact, a recent U.S. survey found that 89% of historians said their job was “not at all automated” ^[1].

Scholars warn that AI in archives is mostly experimental right now ^[3]. In small pilot projects, AI might pull out relevant records or help flag sensitive information, but applying it widely is still rare ^{[3] [3]}. In short, AI today augments historians by speeding up routine steps (like text search) ^[2], but historians do most of the analysis themselves.

Second, social and ethical concerns slow things down. Historians and archivists care a lot about accuracy and trust. Research shows archivists will “hesitate to release data for computational research” if they are unsure about AI’s reliability or ethics ^[3].

Many worry that AI models could hallucinate or misunderstand context, so they prefer trained experts make final judgments. In sum, professionals say the first step is building trust and expertise with these tools ^{[3] [2]}. When trust and funding grow, AI could speed up tedious tasks (like scanning huge archives) so historians have more time for storytelling.

For now, though, AI mostly augments historians (by helping with search and digitization) rather than automates their work ^{[2] [3]}. Human skills – like critical thinking and understanding of context – remain essential and valued in this field.