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AI and the Future of Holocaust Research & Memory: A Public Symposium

Tuesday, May 20, 2025 | 9 - 5 PM
HUB 332
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Please mark your calendars for Tuesday, May 20, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., for a public symposium on AI and the Future of Holocaust Research & Memory, to be held in the Husky Union Building, Room 332.

Symposium Conveners

  • Benjamin Charles Germain Lee, Assistant Professor, Information School at the University of Washington and Affiliate Faculty, Stroum Center for Jewish Studies
  • Robert M. Ehrenreich, Director, Academic Research and Dissemination, Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
  • Todd Presner, Professor, European Languages and Transcultural Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles

Symposium Co-Sponsors

  • United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
  • Stroum Center for Jewish Studies (University of Washington)
  • Simpson Center for the Humanities (University of Washington)
  • Center for the Advancement of Libraries, Museums, and Archives (University of Washington)

Registration Form

You can register for the event here. This event is in-person only, and there will not be a zoom option for attendance.

Event Description

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is impacting all areas of academia. Scholars are utilizing AI in every component of research, including the collection, synthesis, analysis, and visualization of data; drafting of articles; and “peer” review of final submissions. The field of Holocaust studies is not immune to these trends. The question is how will the advent of AI impact the future of Holocaust studies? Will it provide new methods for analyzing data and displaying information for research and education that will benefit the field, or will the reduction of victim data to datasets and the problems of accuracy and reproducibility yet again strip people of their humanity?

The objective of the workshop and symposium is to draw on the fields of information science, history, sociology, anthropology, Jewish studies, museology, material culture, and art history to examine four aspects of this discussion:

  1. AI and Holocaust Studies research: How can the advent of AI technologies advance research, and what are the perils of applying AI technologies to Holocaust studies in terms of accuracy, tone, reliability, and reproducibility?
  2. AI and libraries, archives, and museums: Can AI increase accessibility, findability, metadata generation, cataloguing, authentication, and preservation; what is the responsibility of libraries, archives, and museums in using AI technology and presenting AI output; and what resources and expertise is required?
  3. Limits of representation and reception: Can AI be used to accurately and authentically perpetuate and promote Holocaust memory in education and public memory, and what are its limits and taboos?
  4. AI and computational sciences: What is the current state of AI technology, and what does the future hold?
During the public symposium, groups of invited experts will present on all four of these topics, followed by a roundtable of University of Washington scholars. 

For more information, please contact Ben Lee (bcgl@uw.edu). 

Schedule

9-9:15 a.m.: Breakfast + Introductory Remarks from Symposium Conveners

9:15-10:15 a.m.: Panel 1: AI and Holocaust Studies Research
How can the advent of AI technologies advance research, and what are the perils of applying AI technologies to Holocaust studies in terms of accuracy, tone, reliability, and reproducibility?

10:15- 10:30 a.m.: Break

10:30-11:30 a.m.: Panel 2: AI and Libraries, Archives, and Museums
Can AI increase accessibility, findability, metadata generation, cataloguing, authentication, and preservation; what is the responsibility of libraries, archives, and museums in using AI technology and presenting AI output; and what resources and expertise is required?

11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Panel 3: Limits of Representation and Reception 
Can AI be used to accurately and authentically perpetuate and promote Holocaust memory in education and public memory, and what are its limits and taboos?

12:30-1:45 p.m.: Lunch

1:45- 2:45 p.m.: Panel 4: AI and Computational Sciences 
What is the current state of AI technology, and what does the future hold?

2:45-3 p.m.: Break

3-4:15 p.m.: UW Faculty Roundtable

4:15-4:30 p.m.: Concluding remarks

Register now