AI and the Preservation of Wisdom

Generic AI tools are not enough. We are building a custom-trained language model, rooted in the Bibliotheca’s holdings. This ensures that the system is shaped by the traditions it is meant to serve, not by random data from the wider internet.

Such a model allows us to design new instruments of research:

• A Translation Engine, producing draft multilingual renderings.
• A Correlation Engine, identifying thematic links across manuscripts.
• A Hermetic Atlas, a navigational map of ideas across time and culture.

These are tools for discovery. They expand the horizon of research, but they do not decide what is true.

Perhaps the most experimental area of our work is what we call the Living Library: dialogue interfaces that let readers engage with historical figures through their verified writings. The purpose is not to simulate philosophers, but to make their ideas easier to approach.

Such tools raise important ethical questions. We believe the only responsible path is transparency. Every digital output is tied to original sources and open to scholarly review.

Knowledge survives when it is preserved. Wisdom survives when it is made meaningful.

By combining careful scholarship with thoughtfully applied technology, the Ficino Society seeks to ensure that this UNESCO-recognized heritage continues to inspire. Our goal is simple: to help people encounter these works, understand them more deeply, and carry their insights forward.