Keeping their memories alive: AI helps Oct 7 survivors share their stories

A new AI tool has been developed to preserve the real-time testimonies from the October 7 massacre as part of a collective memory.

The tool was developed in recent months by Microsoft employees to provide survivors of the October 7 massacre with an opportunity for personal expression and healing while allowing the Israeli public and Jewish communities worldwide to create memorial ceremonies or gatherings and hear stories from that tragic day from various perspectives.

During Microsoft's annual hackathon at "The Garage," the company's innovation center that promotes creativity, engineers from Microsoft Israel R&D teamed up with "Edut 710" to develop an AI-powered tool. 

This tool allows anyone—educators, community leaders, or individuals—to create a personalized ceremony, event, or learning session. The ceremony can include video testimonies, background materials, artwork, and texts related to the attack of October 7th.

Preserving the memories

"Edut 710" was founded to preserve the memory of the October 7 events and document the testimonies of survivors in detail. So far, over 1,200 testimonies have been collected to create a comprehensive national archive that memorializes these harrowing events.

The tool enables searches across hundreds of testimonies using advanced language models (LLMs). Through natural language queries, users can gain insights into specific events from multiple perspectives. 

Users can also enhance their ceremonies with additional background materials, including information on the events of October 7th, cultural and philosophical texts, and even suggested discussion questions. Users can additionally receive a customized PowerPoint presentation featuring the selected testimonies and materials.

The tool allows different angles to be presented through the varied and subjective testimonies of survivors from the exact location or event without categorizing any single event under a rigid label. 

This highlights the project's commitment to presenting a range of perspectives and the tool's value. Additionally, users are encouraged to send personal feedback to the survivors whose testimonies are shared during their ceremony, a gesture that the project values, as it plays a vital role in the survivors' healing process.

This project is designed to help individuals and communities hold personalized memorial, learning, or discussion events, even where survivors cannot physically be present. 

For example, the tool also offers pre-built ceremonies based on materials available and tailored to specific time frames for Jewish and Israeli communities abroad.

Ady Mor-Biran, director of The Garage - India, Middle East & Africa, said, "It’s inspiring and fills me with pride to see Microsoft employees leveraging the most advanced technology for such a meaningful and important cause.

This project exemplifies the power of technological innovation, particularly AI, in serving the community and emphasizes our commitment to remembering and honoring the victims and survivors of the events of October 7th."

Reaching a wide audience

Ittai Ken-Tor, co-founder and Head of Partnerships and Resource Development at "Edut 710," added, "Collaborating with the amazing employees at Microsoft has allowed us to take another step forward in our commitment to the survivors, their stories, and society at large, ensuring that these testimonies reach a wide audience and are not just preserved in archives. 

The platform reflects our belief in presenting a broad range of perspectives and empowering individuals to interpret the events in their own way rather than following a dictated narrative.

Our team of volunteers has put tremendous effort into gathering supplementary materials to help educators, community leaders, and curious individuals find a single platform from which they can create meaningful ceremonies. 

The combination of intelligent search features allows for more straightforward navigation through the testimony archive, and the availability of materials in English enables anyone worldwide to listen to the events and gain the tools to create a better future. 

We hope to improve and expand the platform to more languages over the coming year. We are excited by the collaboration and the amazing dedication of the Microsoft volunteers who created such an important and impactful platform in such a short time, and we thank them all. 

Above all, we are deeply moved by users' ability to send personal thanks to the survivors whose testimonies they heard. From our experience and consultations with experts, we know how significant this is for them."