How students teamed up to decode 2,000-year-old texts using AI

The Vesuvius Challenge, launched in March 2023, aimed to decipher the ancient Herculaneum Papyri, which were buried under Mount Vesuvius and had resisted previous attempts at virtual unwrapping due to their fragile state and the ink's invisibility in scans. A breakthrough came when three students—Youssef Nader, Luke Farritor, and Julian Schilliger—collaborated online using AI and GitHub tools to make significant progress, leading to a $700,000 prize. Their success highlights the power of modern technology and global collaboration in solving historical mysteries. The students' work involved developing AI models and leveraging tools like GitHub Copilot to automate processes, ultimately allowing them to segment and interpret the scrolls. Their achievements were celebrated by academic communities, and the experience profoundly impacted them, with Julian accepting a full-time role at the Vesuvius Project to continue decoding the scrolls. The team's code is available on GitHub for further community collaboration, underscoring the ongoing nature of this scholarly endeavor.