Researchers from the Universities of Vienna and Valladolid used artificial intelligence to transcribe 1,300 manuscripts and books in Spain’s National Library of unknown authors.
The artificial intelligence technology used to transcribe anonymous historical works in the archives of the National Library of Spain has revealed a hidden gem: a once unknown play by one of the country’s greatest playwrights, Félix Lope de Vega.
The National Library said on Tuesday that experts later confirmed that the Baroque playwright and one of the most prominent names in the Spanish Golden Age wrote the play (La Francesa Laura), meaning “French Laura”, a few years before his death in 1635.
The copy of the manuscript in the library archives dates back to the late seventeenth century, long after the death of the author (Fuente Obijona) and (Caballero de Olmedo), or “Knight Olmedo”.
Copied 1,300 manuscripts and books of unknown authors
Researchers from the Universities of Vienna and Valladolid used artificial intelligence to transcribe 1,300 manuscripts and books in the library for unknown authors, saving years of human effort and also seeking to discover their authors, by comparing each work with a selection of words used by different authors.
According to the National Library, in order to discover it, it was necessary to use computer tools intersected with linguistic analyzes in various ways for a year.
The work was transcribed automatically using artificial intelligence techniques through the tool “Trankribus”, thanks to which ancient manuscripts can be copied with a high degree of accuracy, something that was impossible a few years ago.
To do this, the tool had to be trained by providing handwriting and its corresponding transcription (in this case, about 3 million correctly defined words were needed), until it reached a point where it had learned enough to independently recognize letters and words.
The National Library said the words used in the text “align closely with those of Luby, and not with those of the other 350 playwrights who were part of the experiment”. Gredos Publishing will publish the book in Spanish in the coming months.
