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AI reads text from ancient Herculaneum scroll for the first time (www.nature.com)

submitted 11 months ago by Bebo to c/technology@lemmy.world

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A student, as part of a contest, used a machine-learning algorithm and CT scans to analyse on closed scrolls, buried by Mount Vesuvius in October AD 79. The breakthrough could unlock the contents of hundreds of never-before-seen writings.

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[–] hedgehog@ttrpg.network 14 points 11 months ago

Note that the AI discussed in the article wasn’t translating anything. It was determining what was written in the original language by using scans of sections of the scroll, taking into account patterns (the “crackle”), differences in texture, etc., that hadn’t been leveraged in this way before.

Otherwise you’re spot on - it was trained on other similar scans that exhibited those patterns where the written text was already known.