Did you hear the one about President Donald Trump having an imaginary conversation with Theodore Roosevelt?
As it turns out, the farfetched scenario was absolutely true, even though the 26th president has been dead for over a century. But he has been brought back to life of sorts in an AI-driven digital recreation at the new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, North Dakota. Trump visited the museum ahead of its July 4 opening and had a conversation with the TR avatar standing behind a desk in a replica of the Oval Office.
Trump spoke to the Roosevelt representation as if talking with a real person, which is the point of AI replicas.
In one exchange, Roosevelt tells Trump to keep his nerve, remember that the nation comes first, and he'll get through.
"Well, I appreciate those words, those words are fantastic," Trump said, "and I just want to say it's an honor to be with you today, and we are making a little bit of a tour, some of the fantastic things you've done."
The conversation also touched on the Panama Canal, war and diplomacy and the allure of North Dakota.
But because not everybody was aware of the interactive video model, created by AI research lab LemonSlice, a speech afterward in which Trump referenced the conversation spread through social media, stirring confusion and spurring jokes about the 80-year-old Trump seemingly having fake conversations with dead people.
Conversational AI is becoming an everyday reality for many people, most commonly through the voice modes of chatbots like ChatGPT. Others have found ways to create replicas of loved ones who've passed away, based on photos, video and written records.
AI avatars powered by large language models to create the illusion of a historical figure or fictional character are also increasingly showing up at museums, theme parks and interactive art and brand experiences. Disney and Nvidia have conjured up Star Wars bots and characters such as Olaf from Frozen. Last year, the Elliott Museum in Martin County, Florida, introduced a holographic AI display of British archaeologist Howard Carter.
As for Trump and TR, here are just a few of the social media reactions spurred by the AI meet and greet.
First looks at the AI conversation
Some on social media first saw the interaction in posts from Margo Martin, special assistant to the president and communications adviser.
Videos such as that one, showing the conversation, prompted some to express concerns about whether Trump was aware that he was speaking to AI. "Does he think he's real?" asked Find Out Media founder and CEO Tim Fullerton.
Funny takes on the Trump-Roosevelt exchange
Comedian Cody Dahler speculated that Trump might see the weirdness of Roosevelt's AI arms as proof that it was actually real. A brilliant leap of logic.
Maggie Reed (Mermaid Mama Maggie) on TikTok posted simply, "Someone help gramps."
And now, some dance moves
Several X accounts passed around an AI-generated meme of the two presidents dancing together.
An AI-generated meme about an AI-generated conversation
But perhaps the most elaborate, quickly made take on the visit was from Mr. Newberger's AI Funnies, which gave the news story a Curb Your Enthusiasm-style spin. This might be the best meme so far about the AI meeting.
