Steve Little
@digitalarchivst.bsky.social
AI Program Director, National Genealogical Society; Family History AI Show podcast; Founder: AIGenealogyInsights.com
Husband, Dad, birder, chess dilettante, film & TV fan, AI & genetic genealogist, Methodist pastor, photog, reader, writer, skygazer, NC, VA
Husband, Dad, birder, chess dilettante, film & TV fan, AI & genetic genealogist, Methodist pastor, photog, reader, writer, skygazer, NC, VA
Concerning the “AI will kill us all” headlines breaking into the mainstream media: BE NOT AFRAID.
The best way out is straight through; let’s not wallow in the messy middle of the Singularity.
Apologies to Robert Frost.
www.semafor.com/article/09/1...
The best way out is straight through; let’s not wallow in the messy middle of the Singularity.
Apologies to Robert Frost.
www.semafor.com/article/09/1...
View: We have nothing to fear but AI fear itself
Blindly believing advocates who say AI could kill us means missing some real risks, like economic or societal destabilization as AI transforms how people work and communicate.
www.semafor.com
September 13, 2026 at 9:04 PM
Concerning the “AI will kill us all” headlines breaking into the mainstream media: BE NOT AFRAID.
The best way out is straight through; let’s not wallow in the messy middle of the Singularity.
Apologies to Robert Frost.
www.semafor.com/article/09/1...
The best way out is straight through; let’s not wallow in the messy middle of the Singularity.
Apologies to Robert Frost.
www.semafor.com/article/09/1...
This is what "vibe genealogy" looks like. A family historian fed his tree to Claude Code and got what genealogy software never gave him: a map of 8 generations of ancestral birthplaces, every parent-to-child move drawn as a line. Nearly all born within 40 miles of Mount Airy, NC. 🧵
July 24, 2026 at 8:01 PM
This is what "vibe genealogy" looks like. A family historian fed his tree to Claude Code and got what genealogy software never gave him: a map of 8 generations of ancestral birthplaces, every parent-to-child move drawn as a line. Nearly all born within 40 miles of Mount Airy, NC. 🧵
I am not interested in making Claude Fable 5 and GPT-5.6 fight for a trophy.
I want one to analyze the genealogical record and the other to find the holes—using the same free GRA v9.2 methodology—before I return to the actual evidence and decide.
Desktop setup + workflow guide in the reply.
I want one to analyze the genealogical record and the other to find the holes—using the same free GRA v9.2 methodology—before I return to the actual evidence and decide.
Desktop setup + workflow guide in the reply.
July 11, 2026 at 6:23 PM
I am not interested in making Claude Fable 5 and GPT-5.6 fight for a trophy.
I want one to analyze the genealogical record and the other to find the holes—using the same free GRA v9.2 methodology—before I return to the actual evidence and decide.
Desktop setup + workflow guide in the reply.
I want one to analyze the genealogical record and the other to find the holes—using the same free GRA v9.2 methodology—before I return to the actual evidence and decide.
Desktop setup + workflow guide in the reply.
Free Fable 5 access ends TONIGHT, 11:59:59 PM Pacific.
Last night, on vacation, I watched two rival AIs grade each other's genealogy homework: 155 records, a sealed answer key, bars set before I peeked.
Zero invented facts. Four real bugs caught. One honest failing grade.
Last night, on vacation, I watched two rival AIs grade each other's genealogy homework: 155 records, a sealed answer key, bars set before I peeked.
Zero invented facts. Four real bugs caught. One honest failing grade.
July 7, 2026 at 3:22 PM
Free Fable 5 access ends TONIGHT, 11:59:59 PM Pacific.
Last night, on vacation, I watched two rival AIs grade each other's genealogy homework: 155 records, a sealed answer key, bars set before I peeked.
Zero invented facts. Four real bugs caught. One honest failing grade.
Last night, on vacation, I watched two rival AIs grade each other's genealogy homework: 155 records, a sealed answer key, bars set before I peeked.
Zero invented facts. Four real bugs caught. One honest failing grade.
Claude Fable 5 is back — but only included through July 7, then it goes metered.
Don't waste it on chat. I published a working guide: how to actually spend your Fable week on genealogy — copy-ready prompts, a live demo on my own family records, and a try-it-yourself exercise. 🧵
Don't waste it on chat. I published a working guide: how to actually spend your Fable week on genealogy — copy-ready prompts, a live demo on my own family records, and a try-it-yourself exercise. 🧵
July 1, 2026 at 9:17 PM
Claude Fable 5 is back — but only included through July 7, then it goes metered.
Don't waste it on chat. I published a working guide: how to actually spend your Fable week on genealogy — copy-ready prompts, a live demo on my own family records, and a try-it-yourself exercise. 🧵
Don't waste it on chat. I published a working guide: how to actually spend your Fable week on genealogy — copy-ready prompts, a live demo on my own family records, and a try-it-yourself exercise. 🧵
Claude Fable 5 is coming back — Anthropic says the export controls are lifted and access returns tomorrow.
I had it for three days in June and put it to real genealogical work. Just published a field report on what a frontier model can build for family history. 🧵
I had it for three days in June and put it to real genealogical work. Just published a field report on what a frontier model can build for family history. 🧵
July 1, 2026 at 2:32 AM
Claude Fable 5 is coming back — Anthropic says the export controls are lifted and access returns tomorrow.
I had it for three days in June and put it to real genealogical work. Just published a field report on what a frontier model can build for family history. 🧵
I had it for three days in June and put it to real genealogical work. Just published a field report on what a frontier model can build for family history. 🧵
Anatomy of a Shakedown. Trump floated taking "pieces" of AI companies. Days later, a national-security order forced Anthropic to switch off its two most powerful models worldwide—even its own foreign-national staff—on 90 minutes' notice. Security, or leverage?
June 15, 2026 at 1:02 PM
Anatomy of a Shakedown. Trump floated taking "pieces" of AI companies. Days later, a national-security order forced Anthropic to switch off its two most powerful models worldwide—even its own foreign-national staff—on 90 minutes' notice. Security, or leverage?
Trump did not merely endorse AI regulation. He publicly discussed taking “pieces” from AI companies so the public could become “very rich,” framed it as a “partnership with the American public,” then said he expected top AI executives to agree to “giving back.”
June 15, 2026 at 8:26 AM
Trump did not merely endorse AI regulation. He publicly discussed taking “pieces” from AI companies so the public could become “very rich,” framed it as a “partnership with the American public,” then said he expected top AI executives to agree to “giving back.”
1/ Trump muses that Washington should take ownership stakes in AI firms. Days later, a national-security export order forces Anthropic to switch off its two most powerful models. Stated reason: security. Real result: leverage. A chokehold.
June 13, 2026 at 4:16 AM
1/ Trump muses that Washington should take ownership stakes in AI firms. Days later, a national-security export order forces Anthropic to switch off its two most powerful models. Stated reason: security. Real result: leverage. A chokehold.
The era of the "free" AI lunch is ending. For 3 years, VC covered the gap between your $20 subscription and what frontier models cost. Exhibit A: Claude Fable 5 goes pay-per-token after June 22 — $10/M in, $50/M out. The new skill isn't using AI. It's knowing when the expensive model is worth it.
June 10, 2026 at 3:21 PM
The era of the "free" AI lunch is ending. For 3 years, VC covered the gap between your $20 subscription and what frontier models cost. Exhibit A: Claude Fable 5 goes pay-per-token after June 22 — $10/M in, $50/M out. The new skill isn't using AI. It's knowing when the expensive model is worth it.
AI is not neutral.
That's the central claim in Pope Leo XIV's new encyclical: every technology carries the values of those who build it, fund it, regulate it, and use it.
One of the most consequential AI statements we'll see this year — and it didn't come from Silicon Valley.
That's the central claim in Pope Leo XIV's new encyclical: every technology carries the values of those who build it, fund it, regulate it, and use it.
One of the most consequential AI statements we'll see this year — and it didn't come from Silicon Valley.
May 25, 2026 at 3:33 PM
AI is not neutral.
That's the central claim in Pope Leo XIV's new encyclical: every technology carries the values of those who build it, fund it, regulate it, and use it.
One of the most consequential AI statements we'll see this year — and it didn't come from Silicon Valley.
That's the central claim in Pope Leo XIV's new encyclical: every technology carries the values of those who build it, fund it, regulate it, and use it.
One of the most consequential AI statements we'll see this year — and it didn't come from Silicon Valley.
I switched my main AI app from Antigravity to Codex six weeks ago. Today I'm ~60% Codex, 30% Claude Code, 10% Antigravity—and loyal to none of them. Don't fall in love with your chatbot.
Then I had Claude explain my own words back to me three ways. It got weird. 🧵
Then I had Claude explain my own words back to me three ways. It got weird. 🧵
May 20, 2026 at 9:30 PM
I switched my main AI app from Antigravity to Codex six weeks ago. Today I'm ~60% Codex, 30% Claude Code, 10% Antigravity—and loyal to none of them. Don't fall in love with your chatbot.
Then I had Claude explain my own words back to me three ways. It got weird. 🧵
Then I had Claude explain my own words back to me three ways. It got weird. 🧵
Met Kurt Luther (Virginia Tech, creator of Civil War Photo Sleuth) and his PhD student last week — came away impressed. Their lab is recruiting genealogy hobbyists for a 2-week remote study of Genet, their AI browser extension. (1/2)
April 30, 2026 at 1:12 PM
Met Kurt Luther (Virginia Tech, creator of Civil War Photo Sleuth) and his PhD student last week — came away impressed. Their lab is recruiting genealogy hobbyists for a 2-week remote study of Genet, their AI browser extension. (1/2)
Ep 41 is live: "More Is Not the Same as Better"
400x more DNA data. 2.3M searchable pension pages. Wikipedia bans AI content 44-2. And an interview with FamilyTreeDNA's David Vance that's one of the best we've done this year.
podcast.show/3738800/epis...
400x more DNA data. 2.3M searchable pension pages. Wikipedia bans AI content 44-2. And an interview with FamilyTreeDNA's David Vance that's one of the best we've done this year.
podcast.show/3738800/epis...
April 8, 2026 at 6:02 PM
Ep 41 is live: "More Is Not the Same as Better"
400x more DNA data. 2.3M searchable pension pages. Wikipedia bans AI content 44-2. And an interview with FamilyTreeDNA's David Vance that's one of the best we've done this year.
podcast.show/3738800/epis...
400x more DNA data. 2.3M searchable pension pages. Wikipedia bans AI content 44-2. And an interview with FamilyTreeDNA's David Vance that's one of the best we've done this year.
podcast.show/3738800/epis...
In 2023, AI could handle a 4-minute task. By 2026, 12 hours. That's the METR time-horizon benchmark — and the curve is nearly vertical. One metric, not the whole story, but hard to look away from. And new models coming soon.
April 7, 2026 at 11:12 AM
In 2023, AI could handle a 4-minute task. By 2026, 12 hours. That's the METR time-horizon benchmark — and the curve is nearly vertical. One metric, not the whole story, but hard to look away from. And new models coming soon.
Fair warning: "I built a thing" post incoming.
18 months. A free prompt that teaches AI the difference between "primary source" (wrong) and "original source containing primary information" (genealogy).
18 months. A free prompt that teaches AI the difference between "primary source" (wrong) and "original source containing primary information" (genealogy).
April 4, 2026 at 7:42 PM
Fair warning: "I built a thing" post incoming.
18 months. A free prompt that teaches AI the difference between "primary source" (wrong) and "original source containing primary information" (genealogy).
18 months. A free prompt that teaches AI the difference between "primary source" (wrong) and "original source containing primary information" (genealogy).
Friend asked if anyone had a tool to turn any file into a GEDCOM file. Built one in a couple of hours. Tested it on a 1909 newspaper article -- both Claude and ChatGPT caught a contradictory marriage date I hadn't noticed. Free prompt, works in any chatbot or as a skill in agent harnesses!
March 31, 2026 at 3:07 AM
Friend asked if anyone had a tool to turn any file into a GEDCOM file. Built one in a couple of hours. Tested it on a 1909 newspaper article -- both Claude and ChatGPT caught a contradictory marriage date I hadn't noticed. Free prompt, works in any chatbot or as a skill in agent harnesses!
Download this Virginia seal “No Kings” image in multiple sizes and aspect ratios—square, portrait, landscape, and Facebook banner—and read the full story behind it and the March 28, 2026, rally at (link in first comment):
March 27, 2026 at 12:16 PM
Download this Virginia seal “No Kings” image in multiple sizes and aspect ratios—square, portrait, landscape, and Facebook banner—and read the full story behind it and the March 28, 2026, rally at (link in first comment):
Virginia put the answer on its state seal in 1776: Virtus standing
over a fallen tyrant, his crown in the dust, his chain broken.
Sic Semper Tyrannis. Thus always to tyrants.
This isn't politics. This is inheritance.
March 28. #NoKings
over a fallen tyrant, his crown in the dust, his chain broken.
Sic Semper Tyrannis. Thus always to tyrants.
This isn't politics. This is inheritance.
March 28. #NoKings
March 23, 2026 at 10:31 AM
Virginia put the answer on its state seal in 1776: Virtus standing
over a fallen tyrant, his crown in the dust, his chain broken.
Sic Semper Tyrannis. Thus always to tyrants.
This isn't politics. This is inheritance.
March 28. #NoKings
over a fallen tyrant, his crown in the dust, his chain broken.
Sic Semper Tyrannis. Thus always to tyrants.
This isn't politics. This is inheritance.
March 28. #NoKings
Fun Prompt Friday: I ran a 108-line image analysis prompt on the same family photo across four AI models. Claude, GPT-5.4, Gemini, Grok — scored head to head. Free prompt, full comparison matrix, and the results are not what I expected. #genealogy
March 20, 2026 at 5:51 PM
Fun Prompt Friday: I ran a 108-line image analysis prompt on the same family photo across four AI models. Claude, GPT-5.4, Gemini, Grok — scored head to head. Free prompt, full comparison matrix, and the results are not what I expected. #genealogy
Ten days.
The president's counterterrorism director quit, saying this war was started under foreign pressure. Courts ordered Voice of America restored. Thirteen Americans dead, no congressional vote.
Now is the time for all patriots to come to the aid of their country.
The president's counterterrorism director quit, saying this war was started under foreign pressure. Courts ordered Voice of America restored. Thirteen Americans dead, no congressional vote.
Now is the time for all patriots to come to the aid of their country.
March 18, 2026 at 1:31 PM
Ten days.
The president's counterterrorism director quit, saying this war was started under foreign pressure. Courts ordered Voice of America restored. Thirteen Americans dead, no congressional vote.
Now is the time for all patriots to come to the aid of their country.
The president's counterterrorism director quit, saying this war was started under foreign pressure. Courts ordered Voice of America restored. Thirteen Americans dead, no congressional vote.
Now is the time for all patriots to come to the aid of their country.
Thirteen days.
Now is the time for all patriots to come to the aid of their country.
Now is the time for all patriots to come to the aid of their country.
March 15, 2026 at 12:04 PM
Thirteen days.
Now is the time for all patriots to come to the aid of their country.
Now is the time for all patriots to come to the aid of their country.
I made a quiz that maps you onto a spectrum of 34 real AI thinkers. Takes two minutes. You get a personalized report — allies, blind spots, tensions, reading list.
Then I wrote about why genealogists should be building their own tools, not buying them. And five examples to try today.
Link below.
Then I wrote about why genealogists should be building their own tools, not buying them. And five examples to try today.
Link below.
March 12, 2026 at 7:15 PM
I made a quiz that maps you onto a spectrum of 34 real AI thinkers. Takes two minutes. You get a personalized report — allies, blind spots, tensions, reading list.
Then I wrote about why genealogists should be building their own tools, not buying them. And five examples to try today.
Link below.
Then I wrote about why genealogists should be building their own tools, not buying them. And five examples to try today.
Link below.
Just published my RootsTech 2026 takeaways. Five things that stood out — including why Alton Brown's "uni-tasker" rule applies to AI genealogy apps.
Also: I'm more direct than usual about our Academy course. Fair warning.
Link in reply.
Also: I'm more direct than usual about our Academy course. Fair warning.
Link in reply.
March 11, 2026 at 1:43 PM
Just published my RootsTech 2026 takeaways. Five things that stood out — including why Alton Brown's "uni-tasker" rule applies to AI genealogy apps.
Also: I'm more direct than usual about our Academy course. Fair warning.
Link in reply.
Also: I'm more direct than usual about our Academy course. Fair warning.
Link in reply.
Fresh off RootsTech 2026 — Mark Thompson and I taught six sessions on AI and genealogy.
Now we're teaching a 5-week Level I course starting March 17. Practical AI skills + a community that lasts. Recordings available 60 days.
15% off: ROOTSTECH15OFF
Link in reply.
Now we're teaching a 5-week Level I course starting March 17. Practical AI skills + a community that lasts. Recordings available 60 days.
15% off: ROOTSTECH15OFF
Link in reply.
March 9, 2026 at 6:55 PM
Fresh off RootsTech 2026 — Mark Thompson and I taught six sessions on AI and genealogy.
Now we're teaching a 5-week Level I course starting March 17. Practical AI skills + a community that lasts. Recordings available 60 days.
15% off: ROOTSTECH15OFF
Link in reply.
Now we're teaching a 5-week Level I course starting March 17. Practical AI skills + a community that lasts. Recordings available 60 days.
15% off: ROOTSTECH15OFF
Link in reply.