Midjourney

10 key implications for AI in Holocaust memory and education

by Victoria Grace Richardson-Walden Our Lab Director has recently been engaging with delegates of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance about AI and Holocaust memory, tackling topics including mass digitisation of archival and historical material and the risks of distortion and disinformation. In this week’s blog she discusses what emerged from recent events organised by the IHRA, including our new policy briefing. I have had the pleasure to engage with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (the IHRA) on two occasions in the last few weeks because under their UK Presidency in 2024, it has decided to focus on the significance of AI for Holocaust memory and education. Firstly, I spoke at an online AI workshop with approximately 70 people, organised by the IHRA's Education Working Group. Then, this past weekend, I presented the opening paper at the conference ‘AI in the Holocaust Education, Research and Remembrance Sector’ at Lancaster House, London. My role at these events was really to set the scene for those who are policymakers and Holocaust education and history experts, but less savvy about emerging digital technologies. At the core of my presentations was the question: what are the implications of AI for Holocaust memory and education in [...]

AI, Holocaust Distortion and Education

By Prof Victoria Grace Richardson-Walden At a conference in Bucharest last week, our Lab Director Prof Victoria Grace Richardson-Walden presented our position on the extent to which we should be engaging with AI for the sake of Holocaust education. I was invited by the US State Department to contribute to a panel called ‘Holocaust Denial and Distortion – New Challenges’, which focused on AI. I wanted to use the opportunity to emphasise the need for more research-informed engagement in how the Holocaust museum and education sector, and policymakers, deal with AI (and indeed digital media more generally). I was joined on the panel by Historian Jason Steinhauer, Professor of International Law Aleksandra Gliszczyńska-Grabias, and Jordana Cutler from Meta, and it was chaired by Ellen Germain, US Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues (all pictured in our banner image). Professor Victoria Grace Richardson-Walden speaking on the panel. Key takeaways are: What are we using AI for? We need to ask ourselves why we want to engage with AI? The question should not simply be ‘what is AI good for in the context of Holocaust memory and education?’ but rather ‘What do we want to achieve in Holocaust memory and education, and [...]