AI could decipher gaps in ancient Greek texts, say researchers

From imperial decrees to Sappho's poems, Ithaca system can find word patterns and suggest age of text

Artificial intelligence could bring to life lost texts, from imperial decrees to the poems of Sappho, researchers have revealed, after developing a system that can fill in the gaps in ancient Greek inscriptions and pinpoint when and where they are from.

Dr Thea Sommerschield, a co-author of the research at Ca' Foscari University of Venice and Harvard University, said inscriptions were important as they were written directly by ancient people and were evidence of the thought, language, society and history of past civilisations.