Pioneering New AI-Humanities Initiative Will Decode Human Culture and History

MEDIA CONTACT: Carlie Wiener cwiener@schmidtsciences.org

NEW YORK— A new grantmaking program from Schmidt Sciences’ AI and Advanced Computing focus area will apply artificial intelligence to humanities research, Schmidt Sciences announced today, with the first grant focusing on the use of AI to shed light on the work of 19th century French painter Eugene Delacroix. The Humanities and AI Virtual Institute (HAVI) will support an initial 10 projects that bring together AI experts and humanities scholars to unlock secrets of human history and culture.

“We study humanities for much the same reason we study science: to gain knowledge of our world and our role within it,” said Wendy Schmidt, who co-founded Schmidt Sciences with her husband Eric. “HAVI will bring emerging technologies to the essential study of what makes us who we are, opening possibilities for new understandings of deeply intertwined human histories and cultures.”

“Digital Delacroix,” a project of the Sorbonne Center for Artificial Intelligence (SCAI) and The National Centre for Research and Restoration in French Museums (C2RMF), an art restoration initiative based at the Louvre, was announced as the first HAVI grantee at the AI Action Summit in Paris last month. “Digital Delacroix” will harness AI, 3D technology and digital humanities to offer a new perspective on the work and creative process of Delacroix, a master of Romanticism.

“The ‘Digital Delacroix’ project has the potential to reach greater heights thanks to the significant support provided by the Schmidt Sciences. As a result, the project is entering a new phase of development, enabling the recruitment of postdoctoral researchers specializing in AI applied to art history,” said Xavier Fresquet, SCAI deputy director.

By comparing Delacroix’s texts, paintings, drawings and prints, AI will reveal new connections between ideas, concepts and artistic creations, shedding light on the evolution of his work. The project will digitize, annotate and publish online Delacroix’s writings and correspondence, including more than 2,500 letters, along with texts written about him during his lifetime. SCAI will also work to identify contributions from the several assistants who worked with Delacroix for nearly 10 years on the monumental paintings in the Library of the French National Assembly.

“The Digital Delacroix project exemplifies HAVI’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of humanities research through state-of-the-art AI technology,” said Brent Seales, HAVI director at Schmidt Sciences. “The initiative will change the thinking of AI researchers and will reveal crucial insights about how humanities can and should shape next-generation AI.”

Schmidt Sciences is a nonprofit organization 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 organization prioritizes research in areas poised for impact including AI and advanced computing, astrophysics, biosciences, climate, and space—as well as supporting researchers in a variety of disciplines through its science systems program.

Sorbonne University is a multidisciplinary, research-intensive university covering the humanities, health, science and engineering. Anchored in the heart of Paris and with a regional presence, Sorbonne University has 55,000 students, 4,000 teaching and research staff, 3,300 national researchers and 135 laboratories. Alongside its partners in the Sorbonne University Alliance, and via its institutes and multidisciplinary initiatives, it conducts research and educational activities to strengthen its contribution to the challenges of three major transitions: a global approach to health (One Health), resources for a sustainable planet (One Earth), and changing societies, languages and cultures (One Humanity). Sorbonne University is also a member of Alliance 4EU+, an innovative model for European universities that develops strategic international partnerships and promotes the openness of its community to the rest of the world.

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