Our Next Meeting:June 13, 2026 |
Presentation: Alice Childs, AG
Can I Research From Home Using the Online Resources of the BYU Library Family History Center? |
The regular monthly meetings of the Utah Valley Technology and Genealogy Group are held on the second Saturday of each month, except December, starting at 10 AM Mountain Time. The meetings are free and open to the public. If you would like to receive email notification of classes planned for the next meeting, go to our press release blog page for instructions on how to subscribe. The meetings are broadcast via Zoom to members of the group and via Facebook Live to the public. To watch it live click on the UVTAGG Facebook website link in the box above and view the meeting remotely.
Alice Childs, AG
Title: Using AI as Your Digital Family History Assistant
Description:
This presentation will introduce attendees to the powerful ways artificial intelligence can serve as a research partner, creative collaborator, and technical assistant. Participants will explore the AI Research Assistant at FamilySearch, the GoldieMay AI Research Assistant, and major large language models such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity — learning how each tool can help locate records, interpret complex legal documents, generate evidence tables, and bring ancestors to life through compelling short stories. Grounded in the principle that AI is a tool for collaboration rather than replacement, the session offers practical prompting strategies while encouraging participants to verify AI output and align its use with their own values and judgment.
Bio:
Alice Childs, AG® is a professional genealogist accredited in U.S. Mid-Atlantic states research. She currently works as the Assistant Director of the BYU Center for Family History and Genealogy. Alice is also a professional genealogy lecturer and authors the GenealogyNow blog at alicechilds.com where she shares family history resources and inspiration for genealogists of all ages and stages.
There will no longer be a class after the main presentation.
The meetings are always open to the public and generally open with announcements that include what is happening in technology that effects family history work. A featured guest speaker will then make a one hour presentation on a topic of general interest relating to some aspect of technology and genealogy. Following the main presentation 3 or 4 classes are taught relating to technology and genealogy. These are at all levels from beginning to advanced and typically include classes about various genealogy programs and instruction for using the Internet for Family History work. The classes vary from month to month. There is a list of teachers and their specialties on the Teachers page. A few of the teachers have provided class outlines or summaries for some of their classes. For information about the meetings or about the Group, email us at uvtagginfo@gmail.com or call or text Gerhard Ruf at 801-602-5048.