about 8 months ago (02/08/2024)
Students Win $700K for Using AI to Decipher Ancient Roman Scroll Skip to content The 2,000-year-old scroll was buried in volcanic mud and ash during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. (© Vesuvius Challenge; all images courtesy Vesuvius Challenge) An unopened scroll that was buried in volcanic mud and ash during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius nearly 2,000 years ago has finally been decoded by a team of students who used machine-learning algorithms to reveal the contents of the ancient text. The winners of the international Vesuvius Challenge — Youssef Nader, Luke Farritor, and Julian Schilliger — were awarded a grand prize of $700,000 this week for using artificial intelligence to decipher portions of the scroll, according to an announcement on Monday, February 5.