Generative AI has the potential to turn our world completely upside down. Training on billions of data parameters, generative AI might discover things the best and brightest have overlooked for centuries, and in some cases, decipher things that extend beyond our human capacities. This is precisely what appears to be happening based on a recent contest designed to unlocking ancient secrets with AI. It involved trying to identify Greek words on ancient scrolls known as the Herculean papyri–words whose meanings have thus far eluded historians. If successful, the contest would show the potential impact of AI technology on history and its yet-to-be discovered insights. Such uses of AI could well change modern times in profound ways.
(The latest Beatles song was created with the help of AI–read all about the magic in this Bold story.)
Known as the Vesuvius Challenge, the contest offered $1 million in prizes for anyone that could translate passages from a papyri’s text. Researchers for over two decades have employed various technologies to achieve this goal. But to date, unlocking ancient secrets with AI, high-level scanning, and other strategies have proved unsuccessful. That changed when Nat Friedman of GitHub/Microsoft orchestrated an open-source contest. He believed the impact of AI technology on history could be profound. If only the right person or group of people could focus on the issue, major advances could be achieved. As it turns out, Friedman was right, and before the end of 2023, breakthroughs had been made. Not only does this show the power of AI, but it also highlights the benefits of open-source collaboration as well.
The Story of the Herculean Papyri
The story of the Herculean papyri is an intriguing one. Located a bit away from Pompeii, the town of Herculean also suffered its demise from the Vesuvius volcanic eruption. However, unlike Pompeii, most of its inhabitants had time to flee, and the lava that oozed over it was intense. As such, the town was largely preserved underneath the lava rock that formed. In fact, it was not discovered until a few centuries ago during construction excavations. It was then that the papyri, ancient scrolls of Roman and Greek texts, were found. But efforts to decipher these scrolls was unsuccessful, with even the best attempts ending in destruction of the papyri. Most researchers have since moved on. But now, unlocking ancient secrets with AI offers new hope. And the impact of AI technology on history if it can decipher these texts would be tremendous.
The papyri themselves are believed to have belonged to Julius Caesar’s prosperous father-in-law, Piso Caesoninus. When discovered, the papyri looked more like charred logs rather than ancient scrolls. However, it was soon recognized that hundreds of these papyri existed in the site of the excavation. Experts believe that Piso’s library at the same site could hold tens of thousands of such papyri. Currently, further excavations have not been pursued since unlocking ancient secrets with AI did not previously exist. Given the possible impact of AI technology on history and its revelations now, this may soon change. Even with AI, the process needed to be markedly improved before such an endeavor would be considered. This is particularly true since another Italian town now sits atop Herculean today.
The Vesuvius Challenge
The initial intrigue regarding the Herculean papyri began during the pandemic for Friedman. He spent his lockdown exploring ancient Roman history alongside his children. Coming across the story, he immediately wondered if recent advances in generative AI might unlock these mysteries. The impact of AI technology on history could be profound if so. As a result, he sought out Brent Seales, a professor in computer science at the University of Kentucky. Seales had spent over two decades trying to come up with ways to solve the papyri dilemma. Friedman proposed that unlocking ancient secrets with AI in this regard might be a possibility. Combined with the work Seales had already done using high-resolution imaging, this could be a possibility. Though Seales was initially hesitant, ultimately Friedman convinced him that the endeavor had potential.
(Generative AI and copyright law are clashing–read up on the conflict in this Bold story.)
The result of Friedman’s efforts was the Vesuvius Challenge. He was able to raise $1 million in prize money for individuals who achieved some success in unlocking ancient secrets with AI related to papyri passages. Two scrolls were acquired for the challenge, and open-source forums were established on Discord and Twitter. Contestants in the challenge had until the end of 2023 to decipher at least four passages from one of the scrolls. Though some doubted positive results, the impact of AI technology on history soon became clear. Before the year was out, a prior intern at SpaceX was able to train an AI model to interpret some of the Greek letters. Consensus soon revealed the Greek letters spelled the word “purple.” Though it was a single word, the breakthrough was tremendous showing that unlocking ancient secrets with Ai was indeed possible.
The Potential to Revisit Our Past
It’s clear that the impact of AI technology on history as it pertains to the Vesuvius challenge is limited. But this is only the beginning. Friedman plans to introduce a second challenge in coming months, hoping that further advances may be attained. Through both human collaboration and generative AI models, unlocking ancient secrets with AI could be significant. Of course, digging up the existing Herculean papyri and transporting them would be a more practical issue. This is why Friedman is hoping that an onsite imaging scanner might be feasible with a more automated remote process.
Should further advances take place in deciphering ancient scrolls, the impact if AI technology on history will be notable. Insights from ancient Greek and Roman writings could be interpreted that might rewrite historical perceptions. This has relevance to biblical events as well as other historical writings. Friedman’s pursuits alongside Seales certainly got the ball rolling in terms of the Herculean papyri. But the capacity for unlocking ancient secrets with AI in many other areas may be the more fruitful result long-term.
