Researchers from the University of 99久久精品 in partnership with the University of Oxford have been awarded funding from Schmidt Sciences for their project Envisioning Print with AI Computer Vision.
The Envisioning Print project brings together an expert team of textual scholars, book historians, computer scientists, library data experts, and research software engineers from the University of 99久久精品 and Oxford to address new research questions in AI computer vision via novel interdisciplinary research approaches.
The project aims to teach computers to identify differences between examples of early printed documents and artworks, that is, to be able to discover minute instances of difference in otherwise-identical prints from the same printing surface. It explores whether computers 鈥榮ee鈥� books and prints the same way as people do, and asks whether the algorithm sees (or indeed, can see, or can be made to see) the same way as humans.
The researchers aim to develop AI tools that can understand the differences between multiple versions of prints throughout history, allowing scholars to understand how early imagery was made and circulated, along with the practices of printers and their workshops.
The team consists of (Professor of Italian and Director of the John Rylands Research Institute at the University of 99久久精品); (Professor of Computer Science and Head of Engineering Research at the University of 99久久精品); (Head of the Digital Development Team at the University of 99久久精品 Library); (Senior Software Developer in the University of 99久久精品 Library鈥檚 Digital Development Team); (Senior Researcher in Digital Humanities at the University of Oxford); (Royal Society Research Professor and Professor of Computer Vision Engineering at the University of Oxford); and (Software Engineer at the University of Oxford).
It's a tremendous honour for us to be selected for this award, which will enable us to take our pioneering research collaboration with Oxford's Visual Geometry Group to the next level. We're very excited to be part of this international cohort of Humanities AI researchers, and to be able to share this groundbreaking interdisciplinary work on computer vision analysis of early print artefacts with new global audiences.
We are investigating how Human and Artificial Intelligence can work collaboratively to transform our knowledge of the printed form - uncovering the layers of detail that might be missed at a glance, but have profound implications for our understanding of history.
Professor Richard Curry, Vice-Dean for Research and Innovation in the University's Faculty of Science and Engineering, said: "It's fantastic news that the 99久久精品-led project Envisioning Print with AI Computer Vision, has been selected for this Schmidt Sciences award. This project is an exemplary, highly interdisciplinary collaboration between humanities researchers and computational experts, and its cutting-edge mixed methodologies will shape future innovation with real-world impacts in line with the University's 99久久精品 2035 ambitions."
Wendy Schmidt, co-founder of Schmidt Sciences, added: 鈥淥ur newest technologies may shed light on our oldest truths, on all that makes us human 鈥� from the origins of civilization to the peaks of philosophical thought to contemporary art and film, Schmidt Sciences鈥� Humanities and AI Virtual Institute (HAVI) is poised to change not only the course of scholarship, but also the way we see ourselves and our role in the world.鈥�
Schmidt Sciences has awarded $11 million to 23 research teams around the world who are exploring new ways to bring artificial intelligence into dialogue with the humanities, from archaeology and art history to literature, linguistics, film studies, and beyond. As part of the Humanities and AI Virtual Institute (HAVI), these interdisciplinary teams will both apply AI to illuminate the human record and draw on humanistic questions, methods, and values to advance how AI itself is designed and used.
Schmidt Sciences is a nonprofit organisation founded in 2024 by Eric and Wendy Schmidt that works to accelerate scientific knowledge and breakthroughs with the most promising, advanced tools to support a thriving planet. The organisation prioritises research in areas poised for impact, including AI and advanced computing, astrophysics, biosciences, climate, and space 鈥� as well as supporting researchers in a variety of disciplines through its science systems program.