AI Deciphers Ancient Scrolls in Vesuvius Challenge, Revealing Lost Classical Works
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A competition called the Vesuvius Challenge was launched, with over $1 million in prizes, to decipher ancient Herculaneum scrolls using AI. Amateur decipherers made breakthroughs reading letters and words.
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The scrolls come from an ancient library preserved under the volcanic debris when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE. They may contain lost works of classical literature.
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Participants tried various AI approaches to digitally unwrap and detect ink on the scrolls' scans. A winning team found passages of Greek text, revealing parts of a work by the philosopher Philodemus.
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The technology developed could help read other damaged ancient texts like the Dead Sea Scrolls. There is potential to find more scrolls through new excavations.
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Using AI to decrypt ancient knowledge shows a more optimistic side of the technology, compared to AI chatbots that have raised concerns.