Digital Humanities and AI in SSH: What Uses for Research?

On Monday, January 19, SCAI hosted a workshop dedicated to digital humanities and artificial intelligence in the social sciences and humanities (SSH), co-organized with the Initiative Europe and the Digital Humanities Initiative of Sorbonne University.

This event follows the launch of the Digital Humanities Initiative and aims to support the academic community in adopting digital methods and AI tools applied to SSH research.

A Workshop at the Intersection of SSH, Digital Tools, and AI
In a context marked by the growing volume of data, evolving research practices, and increasing requirements from funding bodies, digital technologies and AI have become key levers for research in the social sciences and humanities.

The workshop offered a dedicated space for discussion and reflection on:

• practical uses of digital tools and AI in SSH research projects;
• emerging methodologies for exploiting, structuring, and visualizing research data;
• interdisciplinary dynamics between SSH scholars, digital specialists, and AI researchers.

Tools and Approaches Serving Research Projects
The discussions highlighted several major challenges:

• the structuring and valorization of research data;
• the contribution of digital tools and AI to the analysis, exploration, and visualization of corpora;
• the role of these technologies in enhancing the visibility and coherence of research projects.

Particular attention was paid to how these approaches can help increase the competitiveness of projects, especially in the context of national and European funding calls.

Fostering Dialogue and Interdisciplinarity
Beyond tools, the workshop emphasized the importance of cross-disciplinary dialogue and the development of shared methodological frameworks that take into account both the scientific specificities of SSH and the ethical, critical, and technical challenges associated with AI.

The exchanges reflected a shared commitment to developing responsible, transparent, and context-aware research practices tailored to the needs of the social sciences and humanities.

A Momentum to Be Continued
This workshop represents an important step in the initiatives led by SCAI and its partners in the field of digital humanities. It opens the way for future actions aimed at supporting research communities in the appropriation of digital tools and AI, in the service of innovative and interdisciplinary scientific projects.

SCAI warmly thanks all speakers and participants for the quality of the discussions, as well as its partners for their commitment to this collective endeavor.