ArchXAI (AI-enhanced Cross-Border Archives) is an international collaboration that brings together archives and research organisations from Finland, Estonia and Latvia to transform how historical records are accessed and used. By combining archival expertise with modern artificial intelligence technologies, the project develops new digital services that make archival information easier to find, understand and use.
The project brings together archival and research organisations from Finland, Estonia and Latvia to jointly develop practical tools that help archivists and users discover information faster and more efficiently. By combining archival expertise with modern AI technologies, the project aims to create new digital services that improve the accessibility and usability of historical records.
ArchXAI focuses on three main development areas. First, selected archival collections are digitised and processed using AI-based technologies such as Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR), making historical documents machine-readable and searchable. Second, new AI methods are developed to automatically analyse and index archival materials, improving catalogues and search systems. Third, the project develops an AI-assisted toolset that supports both archivists and the general public in making and handling information requests across archives and languages.
All solutions developed in the project will be released as open-source tools and piloted in the participating national archives. Through cross-border cooperation and shared historical collections, the project demonstrates how artificial intelligence can help archives provide faster, more accessible and more efficient public services while preserving and promoting Europe’s cultural heritage.
The technical development and project outputs are documented openly and shared through the ArchXAI GitHub repository:
🔗 https://archxai.github.io/
Read more about project’s workshop in April 2026: ArchXAI Workshop: AI-Enhanced Archival Workflows – Central Baltic
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