AI making the past come alive

 

Chloe vs History channel, YouTube.

A new YouTube channel has launched featuring a virtual influencer time traveling to various locations and events. The channel, Chloe vs History, is an AI creation from Majestic Studios in the UK (see this April 2026 interview with Majestic's creator, Jonathan Laramy). Majestic uses AI to create realistic videos of historic cities, and the new series takes this a step further with the virtual Chloe. This is a bit more advanced than the usual "AI slop" populating the Internet.

This March 2026 Sky News interview describes how Jonathan uses AI tools such as Seedance and Claude to create the videos. 

I've been thinking for a while about "if your family stories could be streaming", and seeing Majestic's progress with AI storytelling definitely provides ideas for stories that I'd like to see with this approach.

Mapping Mom's side of the DNA tree

 

DNAPainter. Chromosome Mapping.

Using the tools on DNAPainter, I've started mapping the segments corresponding to my Mom's DNA matches on FTDNA and MyHeritage. Because I had already started a chromosome map using my Dad's DNA matches, I paid $55 for a year of access to the tools on DNAPainter. I don't mind supporting the site as I know Jonny Perl does amazing things, and it's a small amount to have more access to the features I already use on DNAPainter.

I expect I'll probably create a chromosome map using my own matches, as I'm expecting results from 23andme at the end of the month my from own test. I can't transfer my parents' earlier kits to 23andme, so I'll have to work with my own results there, and I still need to figure out how to transfer segments in common from Gedmatch to DNAPainter. From the transfers to MyHeritage and FTDNA, I am seeing good results so far. I'm up to 69 segments painted (18% coverage) for my Dad's results, and with some limited effort today, I'm up to 56 segments painted (12% coverage) on my Mom's results.

I can already see some cool segments in common on the Campuzano/Vasquez side of tree, because I can compare segments across cousins Catherine, Joe, Greg, Rodger and Eddie with my Mom's results.

There's more to come on this soon. In the short term this update fits with several of my maternal line research questions. 

LACMA reopening

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)'s David Geffen Galleries officially reopen this weekend. I have a ticket for August when I'm back in LA, and I'm excited to see the reimagined galleries, timed for a sunset walk through the new spaces. I last visited the old LACMA twice ten years ago, when I did some night running in downtown LA, and again with the family in September 2016.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Urban Light at LACMA. 4 Jan 2016.

I feel like this is something as someone who has adopted LA as my home away from home, or home in my heart, I need to do, to see the new LACMA space in its opening months (NYTimes article, subscription may be required). As with my January trip overlapping with Indiana Basketball vs UCLA and USC, I'm taking in the sights on occasion when I come back to LA.

An update on the mitotree

 

FTDNA. Discover report on A2a5 match.

We now have an additional result descending from Maria Jesus Vasquez (see also here), as cousin Joe received his mtDNA results. As expected, the haplogroup, A2a5, is the same as cousin Catherine. We're waiting on the mitotree to update and this may provide a more refined branch point for both. Catherine's mitotree updated in February, but I think hers will update again once the analysis is complete on Joe's kit. I suspect the image above will change for him soon when this analysis is updated.

Looking at another pair of matches

As with yesterday's post, I'm exploring DNA matches with my Dad's results on MyHeritage and FamilyTreeDNA, trying to identify segments for chromosome mapping. When I look at a match named Steven, I see he has 68 cM in common with my Dad across five segments. That's pretty good. The longest segment is 43 cM. MyHeritage estimates Steven is a 3rd cousin with my Dad.

Even better, Steven has a sister who also tested at MyHeritage, and she shares that same 43 cM segment. I was able to build a floating tree on Ancestry using their father, and with a combination of sources on Ancestry and FamilySearch work backward until I found a common ancestor in my 6th-great-grandparents William Lee and Catherine Ross. Great! Unfortunately this is too far back to be the only relationship. It's possible this 43 cM segment is Lee/Ross, but the four other segments in common with Steven are pretty small. Multiple relationships mean there's more work to do.

Toward the end of the month, YourDNAGuide's Endogamy and DNA course begins. I'll keep this example in mind as I work through the online course.