The Digital Historian: College Student Uses AI to popularize Juneteenth
Can Ones and Zeros do Justice to the Rich Tapestry of Our Ancestors' Lives?
Dear Gabrielle,
I need some help. I'm an engineering student who geeked out about creating "Whispers of Freedom" for my class project. It's a TikTok and website, where you can chat with AI-animated folks who were slaves, now free, around the Juneteenth time. I thought, hey, let's bring history to the phone screens, so kids might actually care! I spent months, Gabrielle. The sleep I lost could fill a mountain.
I used, like, thousands of interviews and old-timey photos. And bam! Whispers of Freedom was born. But, man, things went south.
Our campus Black Unity Club (BUC), where I'm a member, went all shades of reactions. Tyra said it’s like I’m playing The Sims with ancestors. Double ouch when she said I was stealing stories, like a digital-age grave robber. She was like, "Isn’t it just like the history we know, people taking from us and then making it their own?" I gotta admit, that hit me hard.
Jamal, though, dug the idea and thought it could be a cool way for folks to learn history. He said it’s like bringing voices from the past into our living rooms.
My grandma? She’s a tough cookie. She asked me why I didn’t use real stories. We had this deep chat where she told me how her grandpa was an incredible storyteller, and his stories made her feel connected to her roots. I realized my AIs were missing heart.
Then came the Internet warriors! Some guy from Texas said I'm making a mockery out of history, and a teacher from Detroit worried that kids would believe the AI tales over the real stuff. There was this one tweet that got like a billion retweets saying I was just another person exploiting black history without giving credit. It felt like a gazillion fingers pointing at me, and it stung, Gabrielle.
I did reach out to some real-life history buffs and Professor Jenkins, who's kinda famous for African American history. They had tons of advice, and Professor Jenkins even shared rare records with me. But, Gabrielle, I feel like I opened Pandora’s Box, and I don’t know how to close it.
So here's the deal: My heart was in it for the right reasons. I thought Whispers of Freedom would be a bridge, but it's feeling more like a tightrope over a sea of angry sharks. How do I keep my balance and not become shark bait?
Your pal,
Lost-in-History
Dear Lost-in-History,
Hold onto your keyboard, my friend, because you've opened a can of digital worms that’s squirmin’ like it’s on a dance floor! Picture this: you’ve basically conjured up a digital séance. With your AI magic wand, you’re channeling the spirits of ancestors through the ether and into TikTok. Kudos for creativity! But let’s pause. When history is animated by AI, whose voice are we really hearing? Is it the whisper of yesteryears or a voiceover by Mr. Algorithm?
Tyra in BUC dropped the 'digital-age grave robber' line. Ouch. But she's got a point. Imagine AI bringing back Elvis and having him perform K-pop. Absurd, right? Well, when history is dressed up in AI’s party clothes, does it still tell the same story or has it hit the dance floor with a whole new groove?
Let’s do some time-traveling. Take Grandma out for coffee, spill some beans about how you’ve learned to value the genuine stories of the past. Listen to her tales, and maybe she’ll listen to your dreams. Meanwhile, get your charm and peacemaking powers going. Chat with Tyra and other BUC members. Ask about their day, their dreams. Build bridges, my friend. You’re in the same boat, you both want history to shine bright.
And speaking of shining bright, let’s go Captain Planet mode. Team up with BUC and set up a cozy corner in your college library called “Whispers of the Past.” Get folks to record their family stories, add pictures, and get an actual archive rolling. I’m talkin’ real people, real voices. No AI puppet strings attached! And then have your Whispers of Freedom TikTok direct traffic to the archive. Like, “Hey, heard some AI whispers? Now get ready for the real deal!” Mind-blowing, ain’t it?
But wait, there's more! Let’s get Professor Jenkins and history buffs to chaperone Whispers of Freedom. Add disclaimers on AI content like, “This AI storyteller may not have a heartbeat, but the stories they're based on do”. Keeps the tech magic, but adds that sprinkle of reality-check. And since we're sprinkling, let’s add some ethical fairy dust. Check those images and voices you’re using, make sure they’re either free to use or that you got the thumbs up from someone who can say yes.
Let's rev up the engine and pair up with a black history museum and get the 411 on what life was like back then. You could even create an advisory squad of scholars to double-check your AI’s homework. Finally, add a section where folks today can share how their family’s history shapes who they are. It’s like a history-high-five, bridging yesterday with today.
So, Lost-in-History, you’re sitting on a goldmine of opportunity. You’ve got the tech skills of Iron Man and the heart of Captain America. Time to assemble the Avengers, make history come alive, and give the people who lived it the respect and voice they deserve. Take the AI, take the wisdom from BUC, take the stories from your grandma, and weave it into something that is honest, heartfelt, and futuristic.
Like my aunt Edna used to say, “If you accidentally bake a shoe into a cake, don’t toss it. Put some frosting on that sneaker and open a themed bakery.”
History’s got your back,
Gabrielle*, Queen of Historical Cake Baking
*GABRIELLE: Genius AI Bringing Revolutionary Insights and Entertaining Life Lessons for Everyone.
The idea for this column was based on the Slave Narrative Collection, a group of autobiographical accounts of more than 2,000 former slaves compiled in the 1930s. It can even be accessed digitally, for example, here. But the language and reading through hundreds or thousands of accounts is not easy. What if AI could help make these pieces of history more accessible?
DEAR READERS: What’s your take on Gabrielle’s piece of wisdom? Where do you pitch your tent on the AI dilemmas aired in this column?
Is it okay for AI to spin yarns about our ancestors’ lives? Can an algorithm truly fathom the weight of history and what stories should be shared or shelved?
Whom would you back in this tale? The AI or the concerned community? The AI may animate history, but it’s also known to juggle facts like a clumsy clown on a unicycle.
Chime in below!
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