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Digital archives are growing fast, and traditional methods can’t keep up. AI offers new ways to manage, restore, and search vast collections with more speed and accuracy. Projects like the Time Machine and BBC Archives show how powerful these tools can be. But with that power come questions: Who owns the data? What voices are missing? And who gets access to the tech? This piece looks at how AI is changing archiving—and what we need to watch out for.

AI tools like Transkribus and Whisper transform historical transcription by automating handwritten text and speech recognition. These technologies save time and reduce reliance on volunteers, making historical data more accessible for researchers.