Modern AI-driven family history research tools will accelerate identification missions and help deliver long-overdue answers to families still waiting for their loved ones to be returned home.
Forensic genetic genealogy offers a new path to identify the more than 15,000 unidentified human remains in NamUs, but realizing its potential often requires exhumation of remains to recover DNA for analysis.
Reference DNA testing is key to accelerating and improving forensic genetic genealogy, but it only works if we protect donor privacy and use rigorous science that will hold up in court.
The GEDCOM format is the foundation for a graph-based map of human relationships that, when combined with DNA and metadata, will power automated, AI-driven identity resolution.
We need to strengthen four pillars of FGG—ultra-sensitive DNA profiles, enhanced search capabilities, automated database tools, and public participation—to realize the full potential and truly democratize this technology.
While autosomal SNP markers are central to forensic genetic genealogy, mtDNA and Y-DNA markers offer valuable lineage-specific insights, at no additional cost, that enhance and accelerate forensic investigations.