Ancestry will create an initial automated index using machine learning algorithms and AI handwriting recognition technology.

In past years, thousands of indexing volunteers spent months or even years making census collections searchable. This year, Ancestry's sophisticated artificial intelligence and handwriting recognition technology will save time by creating an initial index from digital census images. While this index won’t be perfect, it will expedite the review and publication process to let you search for your family’s names in the 1950 census sooner after its release.

Volunteers will help review the computer-created index for accuracy.
Instead of creating an index from scratch, volunteers helping with the 1950 census indexing will be invited to review the automated index to ensure that every name is included and indexed correctly. A human review will refine the index and help ensure that everyone included in the census can be found.

Interested in volunteering? Click the door image above to get updates about the 1950 census project and to help review names as they become available.

This is a collaborative project between familysearch.org and Ancestry.com.