The future of the past — how artificial intelligence is changing history

Artificial intelligence has been defined as a cluster of technologies of and for the future. But like most humans, AI is built using what has happened in the past — scraping behaviours, experiences and other data to shape its outputs. In this sense, AI is a new kind of historian — but operating without guardrails, ethics, or any sense of doubt.This annual lecture for the History Council of Victoria, Can I Help You? Recognising and Improving Artificial Intelligence as History Maker was recorded on 16 October 2025.SpeakersMarnie Hughes-WarringtonBradley Distinguished Professor at the University of AdelaideCo-editor, History from Loss and The Routledge Companion to History and the Moving Image