Engaging with the Second Draft Project’s AI-Powered Interviews

The Second Draft Project at the Bass Lab boldly dives into reparative journalism by bringing audiences the truths that others have failed to surface. While the Second Draft Project is groundbreaking on its own, the Interactive Interviews take it to another level. Using this powerful tool, audiences evolve from being consumers of information to digital journalists — interviewers who get to explore each interviewee’s stories on their own. Here’s a breakdown of what the Interactive Interviews are, how they work, and how to use them to uncover an evolved, more accurate draft of history.

How Do the Interactive Interviews Work?

The Interactive Interviews give students and visitors the opportunity to have question-and-answer sessions with interviewees featured by the Second Draft Project using AI. In an effort to the Lab’s documentation of West Coast Black media and culture, each interviewee comes into the Bass Lab and spends about a day answering a deep list of questions. The answers reveal details about each subject’s experience, perspective, and personal history. 

What Role Does AI Play in the Interactive Interviews?

AI is used to categorize each question a visitor asks and associate it with a pre-recorded answer. It’s important to note that the interviewees are not AI avatars. In other words, they aren’t digitized versions of real people. When you engage in conversation using Interactive Interviews, you’re getting an answer that came directly from the interviewee. And all body language is that of the actual interviewee, and not generated by a generative video engine or similar technology.

Are the Answers Produced Using Generative AI?

No, the answers consist of what the interviewee actually said. What you hear is not the product of a generative AI tool, such as Gemini or ChatGPT.

In other words, the team didn’t feed details about the interviewee’s personality and experience into a GenAI’s knowledge base and then instruct the GenAI to extrapolate answers using what’s in the knowledge base. While this could produce interesting results, the answers may end up being inconsistent, inaccurate, and generally further from the truth.

Who Can You Talk to Using the Interactive Interviews?

At this point, you can engage directly with activists such as Lora King (Rodney King’s daughter), Dr. Ilyasah Shabazz (Malcolm X’s daughter), civil rights lawyer Lee Merritt, and Philonise Floyd (George Floyd’s brother). 

What Is the Experience Like?

The best way to feel the energy of the Interactive Interviews is to try them out for yourself. But here’s the general flow: If engaging online, you click/tap and hold a red button labeled “Hold to Ask a Question.” You then speak your question and release the button. A brief moment later, the interviewee answers your question.

For example, suppose you choose to talk with Rodney King’s daughter, Lora King. You can ask a question, such as, “What was your father, Rodney, like?”

Then Ms. Lora King responds. She’s animated, clearly excited to talk about her loving father, answering with:

“My dad was extremely goofy. He was very spontaneous. He loved to ski. He loved to play baseball. He loved to surf. Things like that. He was very spontaneous, literally, like, on the spot, like, “Come on, let’s go skiing, it’s ten at night, we’re waking up in the morning.” What? Huh? And he was very good at everything that he wanted to do, by the way. And if he wasn’t, he got good at it.”

What’s surprising about the AI experience is its naturalness. In a way, it’s an anti-AI AI experience, with each answer brimming with authenticity and truth.

Can You Ask Interviewees Anything?

No, you have to ask questions that fall within the realm of their experience and history. For example, suppose you want to hear what Lora King thinks about what’s happening in the country right now. 

If you ask, “What do you think about the current administration?” You get the following answer: “I can’t answer your question, maybe try asking me something else.”

By replying to out-of-scope questions like this, the AI makes sure the conversation stays on topic. It also prevents the interviewee from “going on [digital] record” about something they never meant to voice an opinion on. 

How Many Different Answers Does Each Interviewee Have Prepared?

The depth of the answers is extensive. Here’s a breakdown of the number of replies each interviewee can provide:

• Philonise Floyd: 315 answers
• Lee Merritt: 295 answers
• Lora King: 213 answers
• Ilyasah Shabazz: 212 answers

How to Get the Best Experience from the Interactive Interviews

The best way to experience the Interactive Interviews is to just let your curiosity and concern guide your questions. Each interview will be different, depending on the questions you ask and how the answers resonate with your personal history. 

For instance, you could ask Philonise Floyd a poignant question like “What was it like when your brother died?” And he would answer with heartbreaking detail while at the same time putting his death into the context of the passing of other murder victims.

Or you can ask Attorney Lee Merritt, “What’s the most important civil rights issue for you?” He would respond in detail about problems with the educational system and the high-level goals reformists need to pursue.

Build Your Own Second Draft with the Bass Lab’s Interactive Interviews

The Bass Lab’s innovative use of AI immortalizes the real experiences of historic icons. There’s no watering down or editorial take. You get the actual, living truth straight from the source. This makes them alive and present for the most important audience at the most important time: you, right now. Experience your own, accurate, authentic draft of history by talking with one of the Bass Lab’s guests.

If you’d like to donate to support more cutting-edge work by the Bass Lab and other programs at USC, you can choose where you’d like your gift to go.