Exploring European Memory of the 1897 Lattimer Massacre with Predictive AI

Abstract Some historical archaeologists work in places colonized by countries whose language is other than that spoken by the researcher. Many of these projects have not consulted the relevant foreign-language literature, which could provide additional context for interpreting their findings. Predictive AI offers the unique advantage of rapidly accessing, translating, and synthesizing foreign language sources that may otherwise remain inaccessible due to language barriers. The following is an example of a little known international labor tragedy that occurred in northeastern Pennsylvania in 1897, when immigrant coal miners went on strike for better pay and working conditions. At least 19 men were killed and 38 wounded, and most of the victims were citizens of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Much of the incident and its aftermath have been reconstructed using English-language newspapers, court records, and oral histories. Due to language barriers, scholars have not examined how the victims' home countries recorded and perceived the incident. Using predictive AI enables researchers to create workable translations of these perspectives with a level of speed and scale previously unattainable, broadening the historical context of this incident. This approach provides an example for others whose work spans international boundaries and languages.