Decoding the Manuscripts of New France Using Artificial Intelligence

Hear about the Nouvelle-France numérique project: a partnership for the transcription of the archives of New France, with Maxime Gohier.

This lecture is presented by the Société historique de Montréal.

New technologies, including artificial intelligence, allow us today to transcribe illegible or damaged documents in record time. The Nouvelle-France numérique project is working to transcribe and tag all the New France-era manuscripts that the BANQ has digitized. These transcriptions, accessible to the public, can help further research and allow us to learn more about our past.

The lecture will shed some light on the key aspects of the Nouvelle-France numérique project, the challenges it is facing, and the possibilities it has to offer—while making a strong statement on how the public can contribute to the safeguarding and dissemination of our documentary heritage.

Maxime Gohier

Maxime Gohier is a history professor at the Université du Québec à Rimouski. He specializes in the relations between Indigenous peoples and the state under the French and British regimes. An expert in modern and contemporary paleography (16th to 20th centuries), his research is focused on the production, distribution, and archiving of documentation concerning the First Peoples.