Twenty six hundred years ago, a band of Judahite soldiers kept watch on their kingdom's southern border in the final days before Jerusalem was sacked by Nebuchadnezzar. They left behind numerous inscriptions--and now, a groundbreaking digital analysis has revealed how many writers penned them. The research and innovative technology behind it stand to teach us about the origins of the Bible itself. "It's well understood that the Bible was not composed in real time but was probably written and edited later," Arie Shaus, a mathematician at Tel Aviv University told Gizmodo. "The question is, when exactly?" Shaus is one of several mathematicians and archaeologists trying to broach that question in a radical manner: by using machine learning tools to determine how many people were literate in ancient times.

AI advances can use predictive image processing tools to restore ancient texts and glyphs that have been erased. Likewise, machine learning algorithms can match myriad characters to identify specific handwriting, similar to how digital signatures are verified. "The medium is very deteriorated and so is the writing," Arie Shaus, a Tel Aviv University mathematician, told Gizmodo. Shaus is studying biblical artifacts using AI-aided tools to determine the extent of literacy in ancient times. In fact, Shaus is just one of the growing number of researchers who use machine learning software to plot the timeline of the Bible's compilation.

The Bible is an unusual book, as it is not only the most controversial but also the best-selling book ever written. Now, a ground-breaking digital analysis has revealed how many writers have penned it. The research and innovative technology behind it stand to teach us about the origins of the Bible itself. "It's well understood that the Bible was not composed in real time but was probably written and edited later," Arie Shaus, a mathematician at Tel Aviv University told Gizmodo. "The question is, when exactly?"

Twenty six hundred years ago, a band of Judahite soldiers kept watch on their kingdom's southern border in the final days before Jerusalem was sacked by Nebuchadnezzar. They left behind numerous inscriptions--and now, a groundbreaking digital analysis has revealed how many writers penned them. The research and innovative technology behind it stand to teach us about the origins of the Bible itself. "It's well understood that the Bible was not composed in real time but was probably written and edited later," Arie Shaus, a mathematician at Tel Aviv University told Gizmodo. "The question is, when exactly?" Shaus is one of several mathematicians and archaeologists trying to broach that question in a radical manner: by using machine learning tools to determine how many people were literate in ancient times.