‘Do You Think You’re Real?’ Social Media Reacts To Trump’s Speech With AI Teddy Roosevelt
Did you hear that President Donald Trump had an imaginary conversation with Theodore Roosevelt?
As it turns out, this unusual situation was very true, even though the 26th president has been dead for more than a century. But he’s been brought back to life in the form of AI-powered digital recreation at the new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, North Dakota. Trump visited the museum before its opening on July 4 and had a conversation with an avatar of TR standing behind a desk in the Oval Office replica.
Trump spoke to Roosevelt’s lawyer as if he were talking to a real person, which is the point of AI replicas.
In another exchange, Roosevelt tells Trump to keep his nerve, to remember that the nation comes first, and he will pull through.
“Well, I appreciate those words, those are nice words,” Trump said, “and I just want to say it’s an honor to be with you today, and we’re doing a little tour, some of the great things you’ve done.”
The discussion also touched on the Panama Canal, war and communications and the allure of North Dakota.
But because not everyone knew about the interactive video model, created by the AI research lab LemonSlice, the speech after which Trump spoke about the conversation spread on social networks, causing confusion and making jokes about the 80-year-old Trump who seems to have fake conversations with dead people.
AI conversation is becoming a daily reality for many people, often through the use of ways of voice of chatbots like ChatGPT. Others have found ways to create likenesses of deceased loved ones, based on photos, videos and written records.
AI avatars powered by large language models to create the illusion of a historical person or fictional character are also increasingly appearing in museums, theme parks and interactive art and product experiences. Disney and Nvidia have combined Star Wars bots with characters like Olaf from Frozen. Last year, the Elliott Museum in Martin County, Florida, presented a holographic AI exhibition of British archaeologist Howard Carter.
As for Trump and TR, here are just a few of the social media reactions inspired by the AI meet and greet.
First you look at the AI discussion
Some on social media first noticed the collaboration in a post by Margo Martin, the president’s special assistant and communications adviser.
Videos like those, which show the conversation, have prompted some to express concern about whether Trump knows he’s talking to AI. “Do you think you’re real?” asked Find Out Media founder and CEO Tim Fullerton.
Funny take on the Trump-Roosevelt exchange
Comedian Cody Dahler speculated that Trump could see the strangeness of Roosevelt’s AI arms as proof that they were, in fact, real. A brilliant leap of logic.
Maggie Reed (Mermaid Mama Maggie) on TikTok simply posted, “Someone help.”
And now, some dances
Several X accounts shared an AI-generated meme of the two presidents dancing together.
An AI-generated meme about an AI-generated conversation
But perhaps the most detailed, immediate take on the visit was from Mr. Newberger’s AI Funnies, who gave the story a Curb Your Enthusiasm-style spin. This might be the best meme so far about the AI convention.
