Genealogist and Educator
Mark Thompson is a professional genealogist and speaker, co-host of the Family History AI Show, and a founding member of the Coalition for Responsible AI in Genealogy. He helps family historians and their societies use the best tools available, and helps make technology feel approachable, not intimidating.
Based in Victoria, British Columbia, Mark presents to groups around the world, both virtually and in person.
Mark's Here To Help
For Program Chairs
Looking for a speaker for your society, conference, or library? Browse Mark's talks and check availability for your date. Browse the Talks
For Family Historians
Want to sharpen your own research? Mark's blog walks through practical, responsible ways to use AI and technology in your family history, one practical idea at a time. Read the Blog
To Stay Current
The world of AI in genealogy moves fast. The monthly newsletter keeps you up to date, with none of the hype. Join the Newsletter
Mark's Recent Events
RootsTech, the National Genealogical Society, GRIP, Cece Moore's i4GG Conference, Ontario Genealogical Society, Nova Scotia Genealogy Conference, East Coast Genetic Genealogy Conference, the Enoch Pratt Free Library, and dozens of genealogical societies around the world.
"Thank you for your wonderful presentations and your participation in Artificial Intelligence Day. On a personal note, I cannot thank you enough for the number of times you stepped in and made things so much easier for our team."
Ann Brown, Chair, OGS Conference 2024

Recent Blog Posts
Using Fable 5 to Untangle a Tough Archiving Problem
How Anthropic’s Fable 5 AI helped a stalled indexing project came back to life by consolidating 18,000 records from Victoria’s 1870s.
Turn Your AI into A Genealogy Research Team
You don’t need the most powerful AI model for your genealogy work. With the right prompt, any model, even a free one, can work like a small research team that checks its own work for you.
Responsible AI Photo Restoration
Photo restoration isn’t new, but its dramatic evolution from the darkroom to generative AI requires a responsible approach to disclosing it’s use.



