Three researchers won a $700,000 prize for using artificial intelligence to read part of a nearly 2,000-year-old scroll. The parchment was charred during the eruption of Vesuvius in the year 79.
The Herculaneum Papyri consist of some 800 rolled Greek parchments that were charred. The winning trio consisted of Youssef Nader, a doctoral student in Berlin; Luke Farritor, SpaceX student and intern in Nebraska; and Julian Schilliger, Swiss robotics student.