Interpreted Herculaneum papyri dedicated to music, food and simple joys of life. They remind us that the beauty and wisdom of centuries past continues to resonate today
Thanks to’artificial intelligence developed by the three young winners of the Vesuvius Challengefinally, the veil on the first songs of papyri of Herculaneum it rises. These ancient documents, charred byeruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, reveal entire passages dedicated to music, food, and the pleasures of life, presumably attributed to the Epicurean philosopher Philodemus. The feat marks a turning point in the exploration of the classical world, with Youssef Nader, Luke Farritor and Julian Schilliger achieving the prestigious recognition of the Vesuvius Challenge. These young researchers used artificial intelligence to decipher the texts, bringing to light a new understanding of the culture of ancient Herculaneum. The competition, created by Brent Seales of the University of Kentucky and supported by Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross of Silicon Valley, attracted more than 1,500 computer scientists eager to decipher the secrets of damaged papyri. The main prize of $700,000 was awarded to the team that managed to interpret four passages from a papyrus.
Papyri of Herculaneum: success beyond expectations
The success of the winning team, composed of Nader, Farritor and Schilliger, goes beyond expectations. In addition to deciphering the objectives of the competition, they interpreted others 11 columns of textopening new perspectives in research on the ancient world. Friedman, on Platform X, points out that the revealed text represents only a small part of the papyrus. The goal for 2024 is decipher the entire scrolland a new $100,000 prize is announced for the team that can interpret at least 90% of all four scanned scrolls.
This extraordinary one discovery not only reveals the richness of ancient culture, but also demonstrates the power of artificial intelligence in overcoming historical challenges. Thanks to the determination and ingenuity of young researchers, the voice of the past continues to speak, enriching our present with new perspectives and knowledge, and the Herculaneum papyri are testimony to this.
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