AI exhibit lets visitors have conversations with Holocaust survivors

An interactive exhibit coming to Cincinnati allows people to have real-time conversations with digital representations of Holocaust survivors.

“Dimensions in Testimony” is an artificial intelligence that uses natural language processing and specialized display technology to allow users to interact with life-sized, two-dimensional projections. The projections provide responses based on the survivors’ interviews and biographical information.

Starting in January, visitors to the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center at Union Terminal can interact with the projection of Dr. Henry Fenichel. In September, the testimony of Al Miller z”l will debut, coinciding with the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

The Holocaust & Humanity Center is one of only 12 museums worldwide to feature this innovative exhibit. With the addition of local testimonies, the Center ensures that Cincinnati’s rich survivor history is preserved and shared on an international scale, according to CEO Jackie Congedo.

“Our local survivor community has been at the heart of our mission to ensure the lessons of the Holocaust inspire action and responsibility,” she said. “By including their testimonies in ‘Dimensions in Testimony,’ we honor their legacies while giving future generations a unique chance to learn from their experiences in a deeply personal way.”

Using history to impact future generations

“Dimensions in Testimony” is an initiative of USC Shoah Foundation, with contributions from global leaders in Holocaust education and technology.  Local testimony support is possible because of support from Bob and Lori Fregolle and the Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati. The Harold C. Schott Foundation sponsors the exhibit.

The addition of local survivor testimonies to the exhibit coincides with the Anita & Hank Schneider Family Holocaust Remembrance Month, an initiative enabled by an endowed gift that allows the Holocaust & Humanity Center to offer free general public admission every January. This monthlong initiative aligns with United Nations International Holocaust Remembrance Day and marks the Center’s anniversary of opening at historic Union Terminal more than five years ago.

Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center