Archives, Digital Search, and AI Ethics

Abstract

The rapid growth of digital records managed by national archives has generated new opportunities for professionals and the broader public to study the actions of democratic governments. To help them keep pace with the overwhelming growth of digital records, archives are turning to artificial intelligence (AI), raising concerns for ethical accountability of algorithmic technology. This chapter examines challenges and insights drawn from one case study—the National Archives and Records Administration, the official record keeper of the U.S. government. The chapter interprets findings from this case study within the global context of government archives and digital record search more broadly, addressing the urgent need for algorithmic tools to enable successful digital records search and the ethical challenges they introduce. The chapter concludes with some recommendations for developing ethical AI services for public archives and a strategy for algorithmic auditing.

Citation

BibTeX

@incollection{Ingram2024,
  title = {Archives, Digital Search, and {AI} Ethics},
  author = {Ingram, William A. and Johnson, Sylvester A.},
  year = {2024},
  month = nov,
  booktitle = {The Routledge Companion to Libraries, Archives, and the Digital Humanities},
  publisher = {Routledge},
  pages = {479--492},
  doi = {10.4324/9781003327738-38},
  isbn = {9781003327738},
  url = {https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/10.4324/9781003327738-38/archives-digital-search-ai-ethics-william-ingram-sylvester-johnson},
  editor = {Russell, Isabel Galina and Layne-Worthey, Glen},
  month_numeric = {11}
}