Project on the Ethical Use of AI in Skeletal Anthropology

Not since the Industrial Revolution of the 19th Century have we seen technological advancement as disruptive as that of the AI Revolution of today.  Truly beginning in the 1990's, AI technologies have exploded onto the scene these last 5 years.  Their reach, ease-of-use, and productivity power are so great, they have demonstrated a power to manifestly change every aspect of modern society.  Even skeletal anthropology is not immune to the impacts of AI.  Whether through the creation of new augmentative tools, or validating methodologies, the use of AI in skeletal anthropology has reached a level that those who are not engaged with this technology may soon find themselves left behind.  That said, while AI technologies advance faster than a bullet train at full speed, our ethical codes and institutional policies have yet to catch up.  

The Project on the Ethical Use of AI in Skeletal Anthropology [Project EASA] was created by a team of anthropologists and bioarcheologists across a vast array of studies to help develop a paradigm designed to guide ethical AI use from data collection to model development and ultimately analytical and pedagogical use.  A core philosophy of Project EASA, however, is that this undertaking cannot be limited to just a few and will require the participation of the whole field of skeletal anthropology.  For that, we require your assistance and ask that you leave comments on any of our updates that are posted as well as any feedback, so that Project EASA can develop the most ethical and applicable structure possible.