IGSI Hybrid Webinar: Old Records, New Tools: An Introduction to artificial intelligence (AI) for Genealogists (Webinar - live & online)

Old Records, New Tools: An Introduction to Artificial
Intelligence (AI) for Genealogists

Saturday, May 16, 2026, at 10:30 am-12:00 pm

An IGSI hybrid event  - LIVE audience at the Minnesota Genealogy Center in Mendota Heights

Presented by
Mary Wickersham and Gigi Hickey

Curious about AI but not sure where to start—or whether it's even relevant to tracing your ancestors? Our speakers will show you how today's AI tools can help you with brick walls, faded documents, and mysterious townlands that every family historian knows too well. We'll walk through real examples (many drawn from Irish records) demonstrating how AI can help you decipher difficult handwriting, suggest research strategies when you're stuck, make sense of unfamiliar placenames, and even draft those tricky notes to distant cousins.

No tech background required—just bring your curiosity. You'll leave with practical techniques you can try immediately, a better sense of what AI does well (and where it still needs a human eye), and maybe a few new leads on that elusive great-great-grandmother from County Cork.

Please join our live audience at the Minnesota Genealogy Center, linger for a box lunch and mingle with the speakers, then explore the Irish Collection at the Hoffman Research Library until 4 pm.

Cost: $15 for IGSI members (Discount Code sent to members via email and posted on member-only webpage link); $20 for non-members. If you register for the live event, you will have the option of ordering a box lunch for the session.

REGISTER HERE: https://igsi.regfox.com/igsi-hybrid-webinar-2026-may