History isn’t just dusty textbooks or old dates to memorise — it’s the stories we tell about who we are, where we come from, and how power has shaped societies. But here’s the thing: as artificial intelligence (AI) increasingly shapes how we search for history online, use AI chatbots for research, or explore museum collections with AI-powered tools, we’ve got to stop and ask: Whose story gets told — and who gets to tell it?

I have a keen interest in genealogy and family history research. I have long noticed how certain voices and stories were missing from the curriculum — stories of resilience, invention, and survival that deserved to be front and centre. Fast forward to today, with AI embedded in so many parts of our lives, I often find myself asking: Is AI in education and history classrooms helping to widen the lens on the past, or is it just reinforcing the same old gaps?

A Quick Look at the History of AI

Before we think about AI in history teaching, let’s take a whistle-stop tour of AI’s own story:

• 1950s: Alan Turing asked, “Can machines think?” — sparking modern computing and early AI thinking.
• 1960s–80s: Early AI focused on symbolic logic and simple reasoning. Progress was limited.
• 1990s–2000s: The internet and more powerful computers pushed data-driven AI and automation.
• 2010s onwards: AI moved into everyday life — from search engines to Alexa — and now generative AI in Education that can summarise history, translate documents, or even write student essays.

This isn’t just a tech timeline. It also shows how global power, access to resources, and whose data gets used all play into AI’s development. In other words, AI is a product of history itself.

AI’s Role in Telling History

Today, AI has its fingerprints all over how history is researched and shared:

• Digital archives use AI to make historical research quicker and easier.
• Facial recognition helps identify people in old photos — but raises big privacy and ethics questions.
• Chatbots and AI virtual museum guides use AI to make history more interactive for students and visitors.
• Translation tools break down barriers, letting us access non-English historical documents online.
• Predictive modelling recreates lost cities or simulates migration patterns.

But here’s the catch: AI is only as inclusive as the data it’s trained on. For example, if colonial records dominate, then colonial voices dominate the story too.

Bringing AI into the History Classroom

So how do we use AI in schools without losing sight of critical thinking? Here are some classroom ideas for teaching history with AI tools:

• Compare Accounts: Get students to use AI tools, such as ChatGPT, Gemini or Co-pilot to generate a summary of a historical event, then compare it with a textbook. What’s missing? Whose perspective dominates?
• Spot the Bias: Use AI-generated content to discuss bias in data and history interpretation, helping students link past and present.
• Build Inclusive Timelines: Students can create AI-powered history timelines that include global perspectives and marginalised voices.

These activities mix historical enquiry, digital literacy, and critical thinking in a way that feels relevant to today’s learners.

Tools & Tips

Here are some AI tools for history teachers to explore:

• Google Arts & Culture: AI-powered virtual exhibitions.
• TimeGraphics: An interactive timeline builder for projects.
• AI transcription tools: Help decode oral histories and old handwritten records (there are many so just search online)

Curriculum Connections

Bringing AI into history lessons naturally supports:

• Evaluating sources in history with AI for accuracy and reliability.
• Exploring multiple perspectives in world history.
• Understanding cause and consequence in past events.
• Discussing how technology changes society, then and now.

It also builds digital citizenship by teaching students to question both historical narratives and the tech that delivers them.

A Reflective Moment

When I explore genealogy and trace family roots, I’m always struck by how history becomes more than names and dates — it becomes lived experience. Technology, including AI, can open doors by helping us search archives, translate records, and uncover forgotten connections. But it can also filter stories, depending on which records are available and whose voices were preserved.