The conversational video Al, which viewers will be directed to online, is designed to generate a greater connection with the subject. “There is research that demonstrates that asking questions deepens engagement. In this case the viewer isn’t passive but has to drive the conversation if they want to know more. The more they ask, the more they retain,” he says. This type of technology, he believes, will be key for future generations in understanding history: “Imagine having a conversation with Winston Churchill or Queen Victoria today. That’s what ‘conversation video AI’ will do for the future of historical documentation.”

Smith, who has helped document thousands of Holocaust survivors stories, believes “the power is in the individual story that makes up our collective experience”. Filming October 7 survivors just a few months after the event and, in most cases, back at the scene for the very first time, was a different experience. “The emotions are more raw – on the surface,” he says. “In the immediate aftermath [of traumatic events] it is more about exactly what happened, where, when and how. Only later is there the luxury to stand back and ask ‘What does this mean?’” October 7 survivors, he explains, “are still in it, living its consequences every day”. 

The value in human stories is to be able to step away from the political, explains Smith. “I am a strong believer in the power of empathy. Empathy is a skill, not an emotion. The skill is to be able to suspend judgement of another, and listen with one’s whole being, to who they are, what they went through, who they have become.” 

Tap the squares to open the text boxes. Type your questions into the boxes, or use the ‘hold to talk’ button for audio commands, and listen as the survivors respond to you, powered by AI technology.

Ofir Engel