Smithsonian Leverages AI to Link American Revolution Artifacts
WHO:
ABC News - Becky Kobberod, chief digital and innovation officer at the Smithsonian
ABC News - Natalie Buda Smith, director of digital strategy at the Library of Congress
ABC News - Smithsonian Institution
WHAT:
ABC News - The Smithsonian Institution is using artificial intelligence to better understand its collection related to the American Revolution.
ABC News - The project, known as Revolution Crossroads, has identified about 10,000 objects centered on people who lived during the 40-year period from 1770 to 1810.
ABC News - Researchers have drawn links between artifacts that would have previously required extensive manual searches across multiple catalogs.
ABC News - The public can search the records online.
WHERE:
ABC News - Smithsonian's National Museum of American History
ABC News - Library of Congress
WHEN:
ABC News - The project began applying AI models in the spring.
WHY:
ABC News - The goal is to allow the public and scholars to search the institution's collection and draw connections across the Smithsonian and other organizations to gain a deeper understanding of how communities formed and functioned at the nation's birth.
ABC News - The work is significant as the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary of independence.
HOW:
ABC News - The Smithsonian has had to digitize and in some cases redigitize objects to make them more accessible to AI.
ABC News - Trained historians review the data to recognize nuances that AI may miss.
(UPDATED October 3, 2026 16:32 UTC)
The Smithsonian Institution is leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance its understanding of its collection related to the American Revolution, with a project called Revolution Crossroads identifying around 10,000 objects from the years 1770 to 1810. This initiative, which began applying AI models in the spring, aims to facilitate public and scholarly access to the collection, allowing users to explore connections across the Smithsonian and the Library of Congress. To ensure accuracy, trained historians are reviewing the digitized data, capturing nuances that AI might overlook, as the nation prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary of independence.