AI Chatbot Aims to Track Down Nazi-Looted Art
At Santa Clara University (SCU), researchers have developed the A.I. Provenance Assistant, a chatbot designed to facilitate the return of artworks looted by the Nazis between 1933 and 1945. According to the Center for Art Law, around 650,000 pieces were taken, with 100,000 still unaccounted for. The initiative is spearheaded by management professor Michael Santoro and includes collaboration with professors Haibing Lu and Michele Samorani. This tool extracts information from the ERR Project's database of artworks that passed through Paris's Jeu de Paume Museum, featuring works such as a drawing by Jean Antoine Watteau and Nicolas de Largillière's Portrait d'une femme, à mi-corps (ca. 1700). The A.I. enhances search capabilities and presents results in accessible language. The tool is currently operational, with future enhancements and contributions from provenance experts planned.
Key facts
- The Center for Art Law estimates 650,000 artworks were stolen or forced into sale by Nazis between 1933 and 1945.
- 100,000 looted artworks are still at large.
- Santa Clara University researchers created the A.I. Provenance Assistant chatbot.
- Michael Santoro, Haibing Lu, and Michele Samorani led the project.
- The tool scrapes the ERR Project's database of artworks processed at the Jeu de Paume Museum in Paris.
- The A.I. improves searches by finding related terms, spellings, and translations.
- The tool is already live and aims to help provenance researchers.
- Wendy Goldberg, former AOL strategist, is helping articulate the project's potential.
Entities
Artists
- Fritz Grünbaum
- Jean Antoine Watteau
- Nicolas de Largillière
Institutions
- Center for Art Law
- Santa Clara University
- U.S. Court of International Trade
- ERR Project
- Jeu de Paume Museum
- AOL
Locations
- New York
- California
- Paris
- France