Ask_ArchiLab: Enhancing Archival Practice through Artificial Intelligence technologies

The Smart Archival Assistant project, called Ask_ArchiLab, is an initiative led by ArchiLab at the Geneva School of Business Administration (HEG-Genève) to reimagine archival practices by integrating advanced artificial intelligence technologies.

Based on archival science fundamentals and resources, natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning, the project aims to create an intuitive, multilingual conversational AI designed for archivists, researchers, and educators.
Ask_ArchiLab responds to critical challenges facing the archival world today, such as digital record transformation, financial and technical constraints, language barriers, and sociocultural diversity. Using semantic technologies like the Resource Description Framework (RDF), Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), and specialized ontologies, the system ensures accurate, context-rich knowledge retrieval while respecting archival standards and practices.
Developed under the direction of Pr. Dr. Basma Makhlouf Shabou, with the expertise of AI researcher Dr. Lamia Friha, Pr. Giovanna Di Marzo Serugendo and international partners, Ask_ArchiLab embraces an interdisciplinary and global vision for the future of archives. The project is structured around two main objectives: delivering a smart assistant for professional and scientific archival knowledge, and opening access to African history, culture, and archival heritage through an open platform.
Our first proof-of-concept focuses on the professional dimension, with a dedicated application built on International Council on Archives (ICA) resources, demonstrating the system’s ability to manage, retrieve, and enhance access to archival information.