AI-powered WWII exhibit allows visitors to talk to heroes of ‘Greatest Generation’

The National WWII Museum is bringing history to life with new interactive exhibits. To create these exhibits, the museum interviewed 18 veterans from the “Greatest Generation,” including a Medal of Honor recipient who passed away in 2022, and combined their stories and images with artificial intelligence. As a result, museum visitors can now engage in AI-assisted conversations with real-life veterans.

Olin Pickens is featured in the exhibit. The 102-year-old veteran now has an avatar as part of the interactive display called “Voices from the Front.”

In 1943, Pickens’ battalion was captured by German forces in Tunisia, and he spent the rest of the war in a prison camp, according to The Associated Press. Now, through this technology, his story of survival will endure long after him.

“I’m making history to see myself telling the story of what happened to me over there,” Pickens told the AP.

In addition to troops overseas, the United States had plenty of home-front heroes during World War II, and museum visitors can hear from some of their avatars as well. Museumgoers can ask questions of a military nurse, an aircraft factory worker, and even a dancer who reportedly performed at USO shows and later became the model for the Tinkerbell character in Disney productions.

“We’re beginning to get to a time when the opportunity to speak to a real World War II veteran is more and more rare,” said Peter Crean, the vice president of the National WWII Museum. “But this will allow people for the next 100 years to talk to World War II veterans and really have a conversation, not just watch a film on TV.”

The setup is simple; people can chat with life-sized projections of real people while sitting in a chair. Introductions are made through a console instead of a handshake.

The project reportedly took four years to complete and was made possible through a donation of $1.5 million by a museum trustee and his wife. Each veteran featured in the exhibit was asked 1,000 questions about their life and experiences during World War II. The answers provide users with a vast database of responses to questions.

According to Tech Times, the museum’s staff chose veterans based on the most expansive range of events that occurred during World War II.

The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, formerly known as the National D-Day Museum, has always been a veteran-friendly place. Many veterans reportedly volunteered at the museum, sharing their experiences with guests over the years. However, after the COVID-19 pandemic, opportunities to share those experiences have dwindled.

Now, thanks to the Voices from the Front project, future generations will have insight into what it took to be named the Greatest Generation.