Martha Weaver

Stories of Our Family History Shape Today’s World.

Our ancestors’ struggles to forge a multicultural, fair, and diverse society serves as a powerful source of inspiration that propels us forward in the face of fear and uncertainty. As we navigate a landscape where fear of cultural differences can breed division and prejudice, the stories of our ancestors serve as both beacons of hope and resilience, and as tales of caution. Stories of discrimination and intolerance urge us to confront our own biases and misconceptions with empathy and understanding. By embracing the rich tapestry of cultures that make up our society, we honor our shared humanity and celebrate our shared future.

Technology Offers New Ways to Tell These Stories

My first computer was an eight-bit Atari on which I played star-raiders and pac-man, and which I wished fervently could do more interesting things. Those interesting things began with bulletin board systems (BBS) and graduated to dial-up internet service and the Mosaic web browser. Early search engines like Archie, Jughead and Veronica gave way to Yahoo and Google. Hardware to Macs and Apple, and amazingly structured and powered new mainframe computers.

Now there is a world just beginning to unfold that is powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) – Machine Learning – Transformer trained Large language Models (LLM) – Unreal-Engine – ChatGPT… That world holds the promise of unprecedented encounters with our past.

A taste of what’s to come: Converse with Captain John Smith about his experience helping found Jamestown. (requires a paid ChatGPT account)