Microsoft launches AI platform to preserve October 7 testimonies
Microsoft Israel engineers develop advanced AI tools to assist users around the world in creating personalized memorial ceremonies or events based on Oct. 7 survivor testimonies
Sharon Wrobel is a tech reporter for The Times of Israel.
As Israel marked the first anniversary of the October 7 onslaught, Microsoft Israel together with a grassroots organization on Monday launched a new AI search platform to help preserve the testimonies of survivors of the brutal attack by Hamas terrorists on southern communities that day.
A group of about five Microsoft Israel engineers and Edut 710, a nonprofit organization that collects in-person testimonies of the survivors of the October 7 attack, a couple of months ago embarked on a project to build an online platform to allow users — educators, community leaders, or individuals — to create a personalized memorial ceremony, event, or learning session.
As part of one of Microsoft’s hackathon garage projects — the tech giant’s innovation center that promotes creativity — the group of Israeli engineers used machine learning capabilities and advanced or large language models (LLMs), to develop a search tool for users of the online platform to conduct sophisticated searches across over 1,200 survivor testimonies.
Edut 710 is a large grassroots organization of Israeli documentary filmmakers, scholars, and mental health professionals who began filming testimonies within a few days of the October 7 atrocities, when Hamas terrorists invaded southern communities, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
Over the past year, the voluntary group has been posting both short testimonies on social media and YouTube, as well as full testimonies on its website to combat the denial of the October 7 attacks. The group’s name draws from the Hebrew word for testimony and the massacre’s calendar date.
“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,” said Edut 710 co-founder Ittai Ken-Tor. “The platform reflects our belief in presenting a broad range of perspectives and empowering each individual to interpret the events in their own way, rather than following a dictated narrative.”
By typing in a few words, or selecting criteria, users of the platform can incorporate background information and additional content for their personalized memorial ceremony, including images of communities, cultural texts, songs, poems, as well as, suggestions for discussion prompts. With a few clicks, the platform will generate a customized PowerPoint presentation featuring the selected testimonies and materials for the event.
“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,” said Ady Mor-Biran, director of Microsoft The Garage – Middle East & Africa.
The project was also launched to create a platform for individuals and communities to hold personalized memorial, learning, or discussion events, in places where October 7 survivors cannot be present, physically, such as Jewish and other communities abroad, Microsoft added.
“We are deeply moved by the ability of users to send personal thanks to the survivors whose testimonies they heard,” said Ken-Tor. “From our experience and consultations with experts, we know how significant this is for them.”
For now, the platform is available in English and Hebrew, but Ken-Tor said that there is a plan to “improve the platform and expand it to more languages over the coming year.”