What are the expecations? 

Historians need to hold to the tenents of,  integrity, honesty , treating their sources with respect, and owning their work (AHA, 2021). That means they can’t let AI twist or contort the facts in order to back up their own views. They’ve also got to make sure any digital tools they use don’t alter the accuracy of historical records—like, changing timestamps, which could make their work look false, biased or incorrect.  (AHA, 2021).

With the digital world advancing at a rapid pace, historians have to engage online without omitting or changing facts. Integrity also covers giving proper credit to digital content, like making sure hyperlinks, web content, or digitized old documents are cited right to maintain scholarly standards (PHA, 2015).

When it comes to digital records, historians need to make sure they match the original source material without leaving information out or changing the truth. Sometimes, they are researching into archives picked for preservation because of the information and evidence they hold (The Australian Society of Archivists [ASA], 2025). These archives aren’t always in use in contemporary contexts, making it critical that they were reliable at the time of creation, as later verification can be challenging. Using AI to fabricate a biased narrative or manipulate digital records would constitute a serious violation of trust (ASA, 2025).