What happens when you put AI to work deciphering lost languages?
Ars Technica 1 month ago 33
Researchers are applying AI techniques to decipher lost ancient languages like Linear A and Etruscan that lack bilingual reference texts or known linguistic relatives. Linear A, used by Bronze Age Minoans on Crete, has no confirmed connection to any known language, while Etruscan from pre-Roman Italy has only fragmentary vocabulary from funeral inscriptions. AI tools may help linguists discover patterns and meaning in these isolated writing systems without traditional decipherment anchors.