Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) is developing an artificial intelligence system to automatically transcribe labels from approximately 100,000 insect specimens in its collection. The system uses generative AI models to extract and structure text information from photographed specimen labels—both printed and handwritten—enabling faster integration into the central insect database.
This digitization initiative streamlines the cataloguing process for government scientists and researchers who maintain Canada's insect collection. By automating the transcription of label information, the system reduces manual data entry work and helps preserve important scientific documentation. The system currently does not involve the collection or processing of personal information about individual citizens.
The project is currently in development and is being used internally by Government of Canada employees who work with the insect collection. This transparency page provides information about how the system processes data, what decisions it makes, and the safeguards in place to ensure accurate and responsible use of this technology.
