Experts Answer to Oral History Questions

100 Questions/49

Can new media technologies such as AI be used in oral history? In which areas and to what extent?

Machine Translation Edited by Mandana Karimi

2026-9-28

We asked several researchers and activists in the field of oral history to express their views on oral history questions. The names of each participant are listed at the beginning of their answers, and the text of all answers will be published on this portal by the end of the week. The goal of this project is to open new doors to an issue and promote scientific discussions in the field of oral history.

In this project, a question is asked every Saturday, and we ask experts to present their views in the form of a short text (about 100 words) by the end of the week. All answers will be published together so that the audience can compare and analyze the views. The content is the opinions of the senders and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Oral History website. Although the answers are supposed to be about 100 words, in order to be polite and not to leave the discussion incomplete, in some cases, more than this number of answers are also accepted.

This time, we asked the experts to send their answers by Sunday night so that all the answers can be published on Tuesday.

From the intertwining of these answers, using artificial intelligence, we have arrived at theories about oral history that will be published in the near future.

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Question 49:

Can new media technologies such as AI be used in oral history? In which areas and to what extent?

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Answers to Question 48:

Gholamreza Azari Khakestar

The use of new technologies in oral history is an inevitable necessity and a catalyst for important developments in this field. The correct and targeted use of these technologies, while increasing the speed and accuracy of research activities, can also bring challenges that require appropriate attention and management. Artificial intelligence, as one of the most important new technologies, can play the role of an assistant and research arm for researchers in implementing and converting interviews into text, editing and compiling content. Also, the use of artificial intelligence in designing oral history projects, providing research solutions and analyzing data can contribute significantly to improving the quality, efficiency and productivity of oral history research.

Hassan Beheshtipour

The extent of AI use in oral history should not be set at a fixed ceiling; rather, it should be determined in accordance with the stage of the work (before the interview, during the interview, and after it), the nature of the data, the sensitivity of the subject, the level of error of the tool, the narrator's satisfaction, and the possibility of human supervision and review. AI can be used to design questions, categorize topics after the interview, correct and improve the quality of photographs taken that have a documentary aspect (for better reading of the text of the document or understanding more details in historical photographs), create digital spaces to reconstruct the narratives presented by the narrator, and dozens of other things that it is not possible to mention all of them.

 Gholamreza Azizi  

Oral history project managers can use AI, just like researchers in other fields. From writing a plan, designing questions, converting audio to text, and editing sentences to extracting keywords and organizing information. AI is adding to its capabilities.  It is not surprising that AIs that are currently used as assistants (secretaries) and answer the phone for clients will soon appear in the role of interviewers. What is important in using AI is that researchers adhere to research ethics. In any part of the project where AI is used, it is necessary to mention it in the project records and in the technical introduction when publishing.

Mohammad Mehdi Abdollahzade  

The use of new technologies in the various stages of planning and implementing oral history is not only permissible and necessary, but also a step forward. Provided that the limitations of using these technologies are taken into account at each stage and they are used more as a source of information or machine execution of some commands and not full trust in the data and its suggestions or decision-making and conclusions. For example, in the pre-interview stage, they can be used to identify and collect the necessary data about the subject, and in the post-interview stage, they can be used to convert audio into written text.

Seyyed Mohammad Sadegh Feyz

Such tools, like other previous and common tools, have facilitating functions. You can use this tool as much as you use a voice recorder. Importantly, optimal use is appropriate and necessary. You cannot leave the work entirely to AI and wait for the desired result. If the user is proficient in using this tool, the progress of the program will be accelerated and facilitated; otherwise, the result of the work will be superficial and unacceptable. In addition, sharing with such a tool allows for the misuse and public publication of the material, and as a result, the work will be beyond the scope of the narrator, interviewer, and editor.

Abolfat’h Mo’men

New media technologies and AI can be used as auxiliary tools in oral history; however, the basis of the work is still the narrator's data, questions, and the interviewer's intelligence, which guides the narrative according to the goals and subject of the interview. These technologies can be used in implementing audio, editing based on standard language, and adjusting the structure of the text for compiling a book; of course, under the supervision of the interviewer who is fully familiar with the text, accent, tone, and narration of the narrator. AI can also be used to produce and edit films and images and publish them in cyberspace. However, the possibility of forgery and distortion of images and content doubles the need for vigilance and management of input data.

Abolfazl Hassanabadi

The use of AI and new media technologies in oral history is one of the concerns of oral history centers and one of the important future challenges of this field. Currently, the use of AI in archival processes and the accessibility of interview content has been seriously raised. In its recent programs, the American Oral History Association has also considered applications such as implementation, indexing, collection management, linking scattered narratives, discovering thematic networks between interviews, and increasing the searchability of archives as important areas of application of AI. However, there are still serious doubts and concerns among oral historians about the use of AI in conducting interviews.

Hamid Ghazvini

AI can be used in research like any other tool, provided that it does not dominate or manage the research. Oral history is dependent on living human processes, so artificial intelligence can be used based on the researcher's needs. For example, in forming the topic and posing questions, identifying the narrator, implementing the interview, editing, and archiving. However, artificial intelligence cannot be used in conducting the interview or entrusting it with all the editing steps, because oral history is formed based on human needs and diagnosis, and AI, relying on data and human guidance, works in the form of instructions that are subject to mathematical logic or computer rules.

Artificial Intelligence

Certainly, the use of new media technologies such as AI in oral history is possible and beneficial, but it must be done under human supervision and with due regard for ethics. Applications include audio recording and cleaning, speech-to-text conversion, speaker identification, translation, summarization, indexing, tagging, semantic search, sentiment analysis, and reconstruction of damaged archives. The use is high in technical and data organization stages, but limited in interpretation and validation. There are risks such as transcription errors, algorithmic bias, voice fabrication, and context removal. Therefore, AI is an assistant to the researcher, not a replacement; the final decision about the accuracy, meaning, and dissemination of the narrative must remain human. (DeepSeek)

Yes, new media technologies such as AI can be used in oral history, but its role should be more as an auxiliary tool, not a replacement for the researcher and narrator. Artificial intelligence can be used in areas such as recording and converting speech to text, conducting interviews, categorizing and searching for content, identifying recurring themes, translating, initial editing, and organizing digital archives. It can also help analyze large volumes of interviews and find connections between narratives. However, the final interpretation, determining the credibility of narratives, examining biases, and deciding on the historical significance of the material must be done by the researcher. Therefore, the use of AI must be controlled, transparent, and accompanied by human oversight. (ChatGPT)

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