EP24: DeepSeek AI Shakes The World, FamilySearch Full-Text Turns One, Microsoft and Google Drop AI Prices, Instructional vs. Reasoning Models

Co-hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little explore how DeepSeek has dramatically changed the AI landscape by releasing a powerful, inexpensive, open-source model that challenges American dominance in AI.

They celebrate the first anniversary of FamilySearch's Full-Text Search, which has expanded from three collections to three thousand in just one-year, revolutionizing access to billions of previously unsearchable records.

Mark and Steve examine how Google and Microsoft are integrating AI into their productivity platforms, making these tools accessible to mainstream family historians at minimal cost.

This week's Tip of the Week demystifies the difference between instructional and reasoning AI models, helping genealogists choose the right tool for the right job.

In RapidFire, they discuss the ambitious $500 billion Project Stargate, major model updates from Gemini and Grok, and how Deep Research capabilities are becoming standard across all AI platforms.

Timestamps:

In the News:

04:34 DeepSeek Shakes the AI World: Game-Changing Model from China

15:51 FamilySearch Full-Text Search Turns One: From Thousands to Billions of Records

23:33 Google and Microsoft Go All-In: AI Integrated into Workspace Tools

Tip of the Week:

29:22 Know Your Model: Understanding Instructional vs. Reasoning AI

RapidFire:

42:25 The Stargate Project: $500 Billion AI Infrastructure Initiative

45:38 Major Model Updates: Gemini 2.0 and Grok 3 Beta Released

48:41 Deep Research Becomes Industry Standard: Available Across All Major Platforms

Resource Links:

DeepSeek Backgrounder

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeepSeek

Family Search Free Text Search

https://www.familysearch.org/search/full-text/collection/list

Free Text Search of Ireland, Properties, from 1298 to 1975

https://www.familysearch.org/search/full-text/collection/M9J1-ZYL

Copilot is now included in Microsoft 365 Personal and Family

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2025/01/16/copilot-is-now-included-in-microsoft-365-personal-and-family/

Google AI now Included in Workspace Plans

https://workspace.google.com/blog/product-announcements/empowering-businesses-with-AI

Introducing OpenAI o1

https://openai.com/o1/

OpenAI o3-mini

https://openai.com/index/openai-o3-mini/

Announcing The Stargate Project

https://openai.com/index/announcing-the-stargate-project/

Gemini 2.0 is now available to everyone

https://blog.google/technology/google-deepmind/gemini-model-updates-february-2025/

Grok 3 Beta — The Age of Reasoning Agents

https://x.ai/blog/grok-3

Try Deep Research

https://blog.google/products/gemini/google-gemini-deep-research/

Introducing deep research from OpenAI

https://openai.com/index/introducing-deep-research/

Introducing Perplexity Deep Research

https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/introducing-perplexity-deep-research

Tags:

Artificial Intelligence, Technology, Genealogy, Family History, DeepSeek, AI Models, FamilySearch, Full-Text Search, Open Source AI, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Reasoning Models, Instructional Models, Language Models, Stargate Project, AI Infrastructure, Research Tools, Deep Research, AI Capabilities