Archives to avatars: Famed historian is moved by Microsoft’s AI-powered Theodore Roosevelt at new library

“Speak softly and carry a big prompt.”

That’s not exactly how Theodore Roosevelt put it, but presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin found herself face to face with an AI-powered version of the 26th president at the newly opened Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, N.D. — and she had questions.

Goodwin is among the high-profile visitors to interact with the lifelike, immersive version of Roosevelt that is able to discuss his life, leadership and legacy.

A week after a visit from President Trump, Goodwin joined Microsoft President Brad Smith at the library to learn how the tech giant’s AI is being used to help the institution — and the Roosevelt avatar — speak directly to future generations.

“Who better to put our avatar to the test than American historian Doris Kearns Goodwin,” Smith wrote on LinkedIn on Sunday, where he shared a video of a clearly giddy Goodwin meeting the digital Roosevelt.

“I’ve been wanting to meet you for such a long time,” Goodwin said. “I feel like I’ve lived with you for 10 years of my life when I wrote a first book about you.”

Goodwin asked Roosevelt questions about his relationship with JP Morgan, the changing will of the country, and how it was presumed that when he neared death, Roosevelt would still be fighting and still be in the arena.

“I never cared how’d I’d be remembered by the historians,” the avatar said. “Still swinging, still loud, still on your feet. If folks say I managed that, well, I’m glad of it.”

A Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer who has written extensively about presidents and American history, Goodwin was moved by the interaction.

“Wow,” she said. “It’s amazing.”

The AI works as part of Box 1, the knowledge base backbone of the museum, powered by technology Microsoft helped create. According to a July 1 Microsoft blog post, the system is loaded with hundreds of thousands of archival documents, and AI is used to “organize, enrich and reconstruct fragmented materials into searchable, contextualized historical records.”

Box 1 and AI also power The Campfire Reading Room, a digital research tool that anyone anywhere in the world can use to search through Roosevelt’s writings, letters, images and historical materials.

Microsoft donated much of its work with the library through its AI for Good Lab. The company said it plans to release a paper documenting exactly how the technology works and to open source the software used in the project.

As technology evolves, the library will evolve with it, Microsoft said. When more documents are added to Box 1 or as generative AI improves, the Roosevelt avatar will automatically update with the additional context.

“That’s why we call it a living library,” said Laura Hoffman, senior director of the AI for Good Lab. “One of the most challenging things for cultural institutions is to continue to keep their experiences feeling relevant and fresh. This is what’s great about AI technology: It will continue to get better and better.”