2021/07/26 by Corey Kai Nelson Schultz · 2 citations
Arts and Humanities · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Action Observation and Synchronization #Law in Society and Culture #Theatre and Performance Studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.1080/09647775.2021.1954980
openalex publication_date 2021/07/26 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
This article analyses two interactive exhibits – The National Holocaust Centre and Museum’s ‘The Forever Project’ and the Shoah Foundation’s ‘New Dimensions in Technology’ – which have created digital versions of Holocaust survivors who will respond to visitors’ questions, with the intention of creating meaningful ‘interactions’ with these survivors long after the ‘biological’ witnesses have passed away. It argues that the formal qualities of these ‘virtual witnesses’ have cognitive and emotional associations that inhibit viewer empathy: first, since the digital avatar is a form normally associated with games and play, participants may consciously or subconsciously ‘test’ the limits of this interactive technology; second, people use vocal commands to interact with the avatar, much like ‘virtual assistants’ found on personal digital devices; and third, their ‘uncanny valley’ appearance is affectively disturbing. It concludes by querying as to the use of these and other technologies for memorial exhibits.