It’s only Tuesday, and I’ve created two YouTube videos about artificial intelligence. One was an epic fail, but the other was interesting until I realized my mistake.
The first video is about how I tried using AI to extract information from a newspaper article I found on MyHeritage’s OldNews.com. The wedding announcement was for my 1st cousin, 2x removed, John Oliver, who married Eleanor Josephine Haggith on June 3, 1941.
I tried ChatGPT, Claude, and Microsoft Copilot. ChatGPT got it almost correct, but I wonder if it was worth the effort. Perhaps I could improve on my prompt to get better results. I did try that with ChatGPT and got a bit better results. You can watch the video HERE.
So today, I thought I’d try using Perplexity to learn more about David Beaton, my great-grandfather’s adopted great-grandfather. David Beaton is the father of Donald Beaton, the father of William Beaton, the man who adopted my Willie Beaton.
Note to self: Try not to do things fast because you make mistakes. I chose a photo that Perplexity gave me, and I didn’t realize it was for the wrong David Beaton. So this is proof that you need to confirm the information it provided. I thought I had, but it wasn’t until after I created the video that I saw the mistake. So, hm, take it down or just admit your mistake. I decided to take it down and add a disclaimer to the beginning.
But all in all, the information it provided about Commodore David Beaton was good. I’ve seen some of it before. Have a peek at my video... flaws and all and see what you think. Will you try Perplexity out to search for your noteworthy ancestors? Just be sure to check the facts, and don’t hastily add the info into your database. That’s how I discovered that the photo wasn’t correct because when I went to the site, the dates were out of wack. Live and learn.
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