New MyHeritage Feature -- Artificial Intelligence AI Biographer(tm)

  My Heritage announced another new artificial intelligence feature today - an AI Biographer(tm) - for creating a biography of a person based on historical records from your MyHeritage family tree or from a record search.  It is described as:

AI Biographers allow users, with a click of a button, to generate a biography on deceased individuals.  From the AI Record Finder, the user can open a record he found relevant for him and he will be presented with a button to generate an AI Biography for this person.  We are fetching all Smart Matches, Record Matches and Record To Record matches which exist for this record, take out all the relevant information we can from these, and with the help of OpenAI generate a rich biography for this person which will include:

• Infobox:   Show the main life events of the person and mention his immediate family members (parents, spouse(s), children).
• Biography:  A short story telling the person's main life events and interesting details if we have them.
• Historical Context:  A little bit of the time and places in which the person lived at, migrated, etc.
• Surname Origins:  The meaning behind the person's surname.
• Consistency Issues:  If there are contradictions in the data between the sources used.
• Citations:  Mention and links to the sources used.

The AI Biographer will be accessible both from the AI Record Finder upon opening a record and also from the Family Tree left panel in the family tree.

Basic users will be able to create a few AI Biographies for free and then will need to purchase a Complete subscription to generate more.

I wrote a blog post about using the MyHeritage AI Record Finder in  New MyHeritage Feature -- Artificial Intelligence Record Finder using Theodore Alexander Leland (1883-1964) as the example.  

When I clicked on my own MyHeritage family tree in the Record Matches, I was presented with a link to "Save Record" or "Create AI Biography," with the indexed information about Theodore Alexander Leland:

I clicked on the "Create AI Biography" button and three pages appeared:

It's really just that simple (well, unless you have to input all of the information)!

I can download the AI Biography to my computer as a PDF from the Chat window, and MyHeritage sent it as a PDF attachment to my email within a minute.

Here is the text created in this particular Biography (copy/pasted/edited from the PDF file):

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Theodore Leland 1883 - 1964

Birth February 10, 1883 ● London, Dane, Wisconsin, United States
Death February 24, 1964 ● Seattle, King, Washington, United States

Parents

Torger Sjursen Leland 1850 - Deceased
Anna Ellingsdatter Leland (born Natvig) 1853 - Deceased

Siblings 

Edwin Mathias Leland Deceased 

Severt Oliver Leland Deceased 

Bertina Leland Deceased 

Anna Amanda Leland Deceased 

Herman Olaus Leland Deceased 

Mabelle Emelia Leland (born MacKenzie) Deceased 

Lewis Franklin Leland Deceased 

Arthur Henry Leland Deceased 

Anna Ruth Leland (born Krall) Deceased 

Spouse 

Alice Gertrude Leland (born Walker) 1891 - Deceased

Children

Theodore Hampton Leland Deceased
Wallace Ford Leland Deceased
George Hoffman Leland Deceased
Edwin Norris Leland Deceased

Biography 

Theodore Alexander Leland was born on February 10, 1883, in London, Dane, Wisconsin, United States, to Torger Sjursen Leland and Anna Ellingsdatter Leland (born Natvig) [1][2][3] . His father, Torger Sjursen, was born on March 26, 1850, in Mølster, Voss, Hordaland, Norway [1][2][3] , and his mother, Anna Ellingsdatter, was born on May 16, 1853, in Øvretun, Sogndal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway [1][2][3] . Theodore had nine siblings: Edwin Mathias, Severt Oliver, Bertina, Anna Amanda, Herman Olaus, Mabelle Emelia, Lewis Franklin, Arthur Henry, and Anna Ruth [2][3][4] . 

He married Alice Gertrude Walker, who was born on May 26, 1891, in Hill City, Pennington, South Dakota, United States [1][2][4] . They were united in matrimony on May 28, 1912, in Livingston, Park, Montana, United States [1][2][4] . Together, they had four sons: Theodore Hampton, Wallace Ford (also known as Bud), George Hoffman, and Edwin Norris [1][2][4] . 

Throughout his life, Theodore lived in various places. In 1900, he resided in Deerfield town Deerfield village, Dane, Wisconsin [1] . By 1920, he had moved to Park, Montana [1][2] . He continued to live there in 1930, specifically in School District 53 Wilsall [1] . Records from 1935 indicate that he remained in the same place [1] . By 1940, he relocated to Election Precinct 17 Belgrade, Gallatin, Montana [1] . Later records show him living in Seattle, King, Washington, with addresses recorded for April 13, 1950, and February 25, 1964 [1] . Theodore served in the military around 1918 in Park, Montana, and again in 1942 in Seattle, Washington [1] . 

Theodore Alexander Leland passed away on February 24, 1964, at the age of 81 in Seattle, King, Washington, United States [1][2][3] . He was laid to rest in Seattle, King, Washington, United States [1][2][3] . 

Historical Context 

Theodore Alexander Leland's birth in London, Dane, Wisconsin on February 10, 1883, came at a time when the United States was experiencing significant growth due to immigration from Europe. His parents, Torger Sjursen Leland and Anna Ellingsdatter Leland, were part of a wave of Norwegian immigrants who settled in the Midwest, seeking opportunities in farming and other industries that were rapidly developing during this period. The Homestead Act of 1862 had encouraged such settlement by offering land to those willing to cultivate it. 

Marrying Alice Gertrude Walker in Livingston, Park, Montana on May 28, 1912, Theodore became part of America's westward expansion narrative. This era saw many Americans moving west in search of new opportunities, spurred by the development of railroads and the allure of mining prospects, particularly in states like Montana. Their marriage coincided with the Progressive Era, which focused on modernization, social reform, and improving the quality of life for families like the Lelands. 

Theodore's military service records from around 1918 in Park, Montana, suggest his involvement in World War I, a conflict that drew over four million American men into military service following the U.S. entry into the war in 1917. Later, in 1942, he served again in Seattle, Washington, amidst World War II. This second enlistment occurred during a time when millions of Americans were mobilized for the war effort, reflecting the nation's commitment to defeating Axis powers. 

Throughout his life, Theodore's various residences reflected broader migration patterns within the United States. From rural Wisconsin to Montana, and eventually to urban Seattle, Washington, his movements mirrored the demographic shifts of the early-to-mid-20th century as Americans sought economic opportunities in different regions. By the time of his death on February 24, 1964, Theodore had witnessed profound changes in American society, including the Great Depression, the New Deal, and the post-war boom that transformed the country's economic landscape. 

Last Name Origins 

The surname Leland is of English origin, derived from a place name. It is composed of the Old English elements 'leah', meaning 'wood' or 'clearing', and 'land', which refers to land or territory. The name would have originally been used for someone who lived by a clearing or glade within woodland or perhaps owned such a piece of land. Over time, as families moved or land ownership changed, the name became associated with individuals rather than a specific location, evolving into a hereditary family surname. 

Consistency Issues 

1. There is a discrepancy in the number of siblings reported; sources [1] and [4] mention eight siblings while sources [2] and [3] report nine siblings. 

2. Sources are inconsistent about whether Theodore's wife Alice Gertrude Walker was an ex-wife or current spouse at the time of certain events. Source [4] refers to her as 'ex-wife' indicating a divorce before 1930, which is not mentioned in other sources. 

3. The name of one son is given differently across sources: as 'Wallace Ford' in [1] and 'Bud Wallace Ford' in [2] . It is unclear if 'Bud' is a middle name, nickname, or error. 

Citations 

1. Source: FamilySearch Family Tree collection on MyHeritage https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-40001-671223435/theodore-alexander-leland-in-familysearch-family-tree 

2. Source: Steine Web Site, managed by Arne Steine https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-1-174293551-6-845/theodore-alexander-leland-in-myheritage-family-trees 

3. Source: Eldar Foss Web Site, managed by Eldar Foss https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-1-202846581-2-509727/theodore-alexander-leland-in-myheritage-family-trees 

4. Source: Randy Seaver's Genealogy Research, managed by Randy Seaver https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-1-1742741-14-13165/theodore-alexander-leland-in-myheritage-family-trees 

This AI Biography™ was created by MyHeritage using AI and includes data from MyHeritage and content generated by OpenAI.

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See the MyHeritage blog post -- Introducing AI Biographer™: Create a Wikipedia-like biography for any ancestor using AI, enriched with historical context -- for more information and a demonstration of how the AI Biographer works from a card in a MyHeritage family tree.

Note - I don't have the link from the MyHeritage family tree cards yet as of 1:30 p.m. PST.  Therefore, I can't see the difference between the "Standard" and "Enhanced" AI Biography.  My guess is the "Standard" is the first paragraph above and the "Enhanced" is all of the above.

I like this feature - and it will be very useful for many researches to create short biographies.  The MyHeritage blog post identifies some improvements that they hope to add:

"In the near future, we plan to enhance the AI Biography™ to also consider all the information you add as Biography Notes. This will give you a simple way to add any information you would like to include in the biography, such as the person’s hobbies, unique personality traits, special life anecdotes, and so on. This information will be included the next time you generate an AI Biography™ for that individual."

That will help, as long as the user understands that they will have to provide the Biography Notes to their MyHeritage family tree, or use someone else's MyHeritage family tree that has Biography Notes.  I don't know if the "Life Story" in a FamilySearch Family Tree profile or if a Note in the Geni.com tree profile will be transferred if the user selects those Record Matches to create the AI Biography.  

I would like to see the birth and death years for the siblings and children of the person with the Biographer - both in the list of close relatives and in the Biography text.

If a user has desktop genealogy software (like RootsMagic, Family Tree Maker, Legacy Family Tree, etc.) then the Biography created by that program will have all of the information that the user has included - all events, names, dates, places, relationships, sources, notes and media.

Both Ancestry.com and FamilySearch have short biographies for profiles in their family trees, but don't include bigraphical Notes and commentary like this MyHeritage AI Biographer. 

The genealogy community has been exploring ways to use OpenAI and other online artificial intelligence  programs to create biographies - see one of my attempts in Writing an AI Narrative Report in ChatGPT for David Auble (1817-1894).  That doesn't have Notes for a biography, but it could!  

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Disclosure: I receive a complimentary subscription to MyHeritage, and have received other material consideration in past years. I uploaded my autosomal DNA raw data to their DNA product. I am a subscriber to Family Tree Webinars and love it. I am a paid subscriber to the Reimagine mobile app. This does not affect my objective analysis of MyHeritage products.

The URL for this post is:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2023/12/new-myheritage-feature-artificial_26.html

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