Tulane University professor and biographer Walter Isaacson has launched a new company with the help of two recent Tulane alumni that aims to connect clients with writers to turn their life stories into professionally produced books.

Ishaan Pomitcher and Owen Kirsten were both students of Isaacson when they realized they could use artificial intelligence tools to organize information while having students serve as writers and reporters. 

With these ideas, the three created Boswell & Co., a company that produces commissioned biographies. Isaacson said he is donating all of his profits from Boswell & Co to the Tulane Scholarship Fund.

The company’s namesake is James Boswell, widely considered the inventor of the modern biography.

Boswell & Co. divides the writing process into four phases: research and data gathering, interviews, writing and editing. Writers use artificial intelligence in the first phase as part of the research process. 

“I sometimes talk about AI helping create more jobs than it destroys,” Isaacson said. “AI is one of many tools you use when you are putting together a book and it certainly makes sifting through large amounts of information easier.”

Isaacson’s students begin interviewing and writing, then Isaacson and his journalism colleagues edit the biographies. 

“I wanted my students who are good at writing history to have jobs,” Isaacson said. “There are thousands of people who may want the story of their company, their life or the lessons they’ve learned written as a book. This is a way to get good jobs for people who took my class.”

According to Isaacson, Boswell & Co. is creating a “new market” for commissioned biographies. The company serves a range of clients, including individuals looking to document family histories or personal experiences, as well as companies seeking to record their founding and development for internal audiences.

While some biographies are intended for commercial sale, many are produced for personal or corporate use. Clients receive a finished manuscript of approximately 50,000 to 75,000 words, along with a printed hardcover edition, digital formats, interview and production files and full ownership rights.

“Everyone deserves to have their stories told,” Isaacson said.

Isaacson emphasized that Boswell & Co. is not fundamentally an artificial intelligence company.

“This is a human-driven company where people who study history or reporting at Tulane will be able to work,” Isaacson said. “They are doing the same type of reporting I’ve done in my books for the past 30 years.”

The company currently works with around 20 clients, and Isaacson said he hopes to continue expanding its network of writers, reporters and customers.