FAQs
What are Interactive Interviews?
Interactive Interviews are conversations powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI). Each Interactive Interview is created from a real interview with a real person. Every answer is the actual words of the interview subject. No generative AI is used to create the answers, ensuring every answer is an authentic response.
Using natural language with speech-to-text input, users are able to ask questions, and the AI will match and deliver a previously-recorded video answer. While Interactive Interviews utilize advanced technology, for the user, the interaction will feel just like a normal conversation with a human.
This kind of interview creates a personal and conversational experience for the user. Because individuals can interact with the interviews on their own terms and in an informal way, their experience will be unique and tailored specifically to their interests, which you don’t get from simply watching an interview and having no control over what questions are asked.
How do the Interactive Interviews work?
When a question is asked to a Survivor, machine learning transcribes the spoken question as well as searches all the questions and answers from the Survivor’s interview for the most appropriate response to that question. After the spoken question is transcribed, it displays on the screen and is used by the AI system to compare the question to the interview questions and answers to find the best matching answer.
Once a match is found, the corresponding video answer is played and the transcript of the answer is shown in the chat history.
Do Interactive Interviews use generative AI to create answers?
No, none of the answers you’ll hear are generated by AI or altered to change the answer recorded in the original interview. Each answer is an authentic response from the interviewee.
How should I structure my questions?
The interactives work best by asking a single, direct question at a time. Try to avoid long, complex questions and questions with multiple parts. There is no need to include the name of the interviewee with each question you ask.
Examples of direct questions:
- What is your favorite childhood memory?
- When did you first tell your spouse that you were a Holocaust Survivor?
Examples of questions to avoid:
- What is your name and where are you from? This should be two separate questions.
- My grandmother was also a Holocaust Survivor and used to tell me stories from her experiences in the concentration camps. When did you first share your story about your holocaust experience with your family members? This is not a direct question.
Why don’t some of the answers don’t perfectly match my question?
Every answer is a 100% authentic response in the original words of the interviewee. This means that sometimes your question isn’t phrased the same way that the question was asked during the filming of the interview. While the system matches your question to the closest answer, in some cases, there won’t be a good match and the system will return a generic response such as “That’s a good question for a historian.” or “I didn’t have that experience.” These responses are intended to provide guidance to rephrase your question or as a different question.
Why does the system return different responses to the same question?
In some cases, multiple answers to the same question were recorded to provide some variation in the conversation. In these situations, the system will return one of the matching answers at random after determining that multiple answers are an appropriate match.
Which device and web browser should I use?
The Interactive Interviews are designed to be used on a desktop/laptop computer or a smartphone. Most modern web browsers are supported, but we find the best results with Google Chrome, especially for asking voice questions. iOS and Safari may require additional permissions in order to give the application microphone access.I keep getting the No Voice Detected error.
The most common reason for a No Voice Detected error is due to permissions from your web browser. Your browser should prompt you for permissions to use the microphone the first time you load the Interactive Interviews website. If you have already approved permissions, ensure that your mic volume is turned up. If you are using an external microphone (including headphones/earbuds) try to disconnect the microphone and try the internal mic built into your computer/phone.
Double-check that your browser is allowing use of the microphone:
Courtesy of USC Libraries