DOI: https://doi.org/10.36719/3104-4735/5/31-36

The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Historical Research: Investigation of Documents, Manuscripts, Resources, and Sources

Zaur Aliyev

Abstract. The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Historical Research: Investigation of Documents and Sources. The article analyzes the role of artificial intelligence technologies in the fields of historical science, source criticism, paleography, and archival studies from the perspective of a historian and scholar. Avoiding complex mathematical and technical terminology, the paper explains the methodological innovations brought by the Digital Humanities in an accessible language. It explores the capabilities of AI in deciphering ancient and faded manuscripts, detecting forged documents through stylometric analysis, establishing global archival networks, and digitally reconstructing damaged stone inscriptions and clay tablets. Furthermore, the ethical boundaries of AI and the problems of algorithmic bias are evaluated in the light of the traditional principles of source criticism. The study explores how artificial intelligence can enhance the examination of historical materials by facilitating the digitization, recognition, organization, and analysis of complex documentary and manuscript collections. A qualitative and comparative approach is applied to assess the usefulness of AI-assisted research techniques while emphasizing the importance of source verification and scholarly interpretation in maintaining the reliability of historical findings.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, historiography, source criticism, paleography, digital archives, stylometry, semantic translation.