Have you ever wished you could sit down with someone extraordinary—a distant ancestor, a Holocaust survivor, a beloved celebrity, or even, Santa Claus—and have a personal conversation with them about their life and experiences? Thanks to the team at StoryFile, conversations like these are not only possible, they are available to everyone today.
In 2010, StoryFile CEO and Co-founder, Heather Maio-Smith had been tasked with recording intergenerational testimony for an exhibit on the Holocaust. As she spoke to survivor Rose Schindler, Smith lamented the fact that future generations would be robbed of an interactive dialogue with someone whose story is so important to hear firsthand, so she set out to create a solution.
Seven years later, Smith—along with Co-founders Stephen Smith, Ceci Chan, and Sam Gustman—launched StoryFile, an automatic, cloud-based platform that allows everyone the opportunity to record meaningful, personal stories to be retold later as interactive conversations.
“StoryFile is committed to recording history so we as the human collective are not doomed to repeat it,” said Smith. “If we don’t record and tell the stories from the people who live through it and experienced it, the stories will get twisted and told differently.”
The company uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to process and present its subjects’ recordings without manipulating the material in unintended ways. In other words, a computer doesn’t splice together snippets of dialogue to produce answers, but rather listens to a question and then offers up a response from the archived footage.
The technology offers innovative business applications as well. Companies can create engaging interactions that answer sales questions, provide customer service, or aid in training purposes.
Anyone interested in experiencing one of these conversations can visit the company’s website and ask Ricardo Negron, a survivor of the Pulse Nightclub massacre, how that tragedy impacted his life; hear Star Trek veteran William Shatner explain how his acting career began; or ask first-responder Nancy Rosado what she remembers about 9/11.
“Imagine your great-great-grandchildren being able to talk to you,” said Smith. “StoryFile makes that possible. People all over the world will soon be able to interact and communicate with each other through natural conversation video.”