Holocaust Survivors Trust Memories to AI to Preserve History
NEW YORK: Survivors of the Holocaust have entrusted their memories of the Nazi death camps to artificial intelligence to ensure that generations to come can access recollections of the genocide of six million Jews.
Project at Museum of Jewish Heritage
The project at the Museum of Jewish Heritage (MJH) in New York saw 10 survivors undertake interviews on a range of topics to allow future visitors to question their virtual likenesses about their experiences. Artificial intelligence will be used to interpret questions from members of the public, who will be played a fixed set of pre-recorded responses to "answer" their questions.
Survivor Stories: An Interactive Dialog
Toby Levy, 91, stood next to an AI-powered video installation, "Survivor Stories: An Interactive Dialog", at a gathering with 200 Holocaust survivors. Levy, who was born in a region of Poland in 1933 that is now Ukraine, said, "Somebody will survive because we have to tell the world what happened – and maybe it’s us. I remembered (my father’s) words, ‘you will be the one who will have to tell the world.’ Seventy-five years later, here I am in the United States."
Protecting Memories Forever
The project will protect the memories of the survivors forever, said Mike Jones, the brains behind the project, a collaboration between the University of Southern California Libraries and the MJH. "There’s a timelessness that it’s always going to be important and urgent until the day that there’s simply just peace on Earth," he said.
Survivor Testimonies
The ten survivors underwent extensive video interviews in the summer of 2024, touching on their childhoods prior to the Holocaust, survival in the camps, and their recollection of liberation and resettlement. Visitors to the museum or its website can then "converse" with them on screen, and the survivors respond interactively according to the pre-recorded answers.
Concerns about Anti-Semitism
Alice Ginsburg, born in 1933 in what was then Czechoslovakia, now Hungary, recounted her deportation in 1944 to Auschwitz where she almost died from hunger and forced labor before the camp was liberated on January 27, 1945. She arrived in the United States two years later. "It’s important to publicize it so it should never happen again," she said. "This is man’s inhumanity to man."
Conclusion
The project aims to ensure that the memories of the Holocaust survivors are preserved for generations to come. As Toby Levy said, "Somebody will survive because we have to tell the world what happened – and maybe it’s us."
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the purpose of the project?
The project aims to preserve the memories of Holocaust survivors for future generations. - How will the project work?
The project will use artificial intelligence to interpret questions from the public and provide pre-recorded responses from the survivors. - Will the project be available online?
Yes, the project will be available on the Museum of Jewish Heritage’s website, allowing visitors to "converse" with the survivors remotely. - What is the significance of the project?
The project is significant in preserving the history of the Holocaust and ensuring that future generations do not forget the atrocities that occurred.