March 09, 2025
Bridging Centuries: How AI is Unlocking Virginia's Handwritten History
Every local government sits on a treasure trove of historical data locked away in handwritten records. Using GPT-4o, I transcribed, dated, and categorized 1,300 pages of council meeting minutes spanning 1930 to 1983, with a 99.78% cost savings compared to human transcription. What started as a local innovation project now offers a blueprint for governments nationwide to convert their historical records into searchable, actionable data.