Lest AI forgets: How foundation models remember the Holocaust and why it is important

Holocaust memory and education are in crisis. The passing of the last survivors necessitates the search for new means of transmitting knowledge about the Holocaust and countering the rise of antisemitism and Holocaust denial. The development of AI, particularly the rise of foundation models and their adoption in education and heritage, can radically transform how the Holocaust is taught and remembered. However, the consequences of this transformation are still unclear: Can AI live up to the task of dealing with ethical complexities and nuances of one of the most traumatic episodes of human history and prevent Holocaust memory from disappearing? Or will AI worsen the current situation by contributing to the distortion of historical facts and the propagation of antisemitism? To answer these questions, it is important to understand how AI remembers the Holocaust and reacts to different types of inquiries. The talk will share the outcomes of several experiments investigating foundation models' performance regarding the Holocaust and discuss what can be done to better teach foundation models to remember the Holocaust and other genocides.