The new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library opened today in Medora, North Dakota, featuring a 96,000-square-foot museum designed to engage visitors with both archives and an AI-powered avatar of the 26th president. Trained on 400,000 archival documents, the lifesize avatar speaks in Roosevelt’s characteristic rapid-fire voice and gestures as it answers questions from visitors of all ages.
The avatar wears Roosevelt’s signature wire-rim spectacles, a cream waistcoat with a gold watch chain, and his famous mustache. LemonSlice, an AI lab, built the technology in partnership with Microsoft and the library. Conversations are rated PG, keeping the experience accessible to families.
How the AI Learns From Archives
The system organizes and reconstructs hundreds of thousands of historical documents, allowing visitors to search, explore, and interact with Roosevelt and his writings in new ways. As more documents are added or as generative AI improves, the avatar automatically updates. This means the digital president grows smarter over time, reflecting new research and deeper historical context.
What Visitors Can Ask
Guests can ask about Roosevelt’s leadership philosophy, his conservation legacy, his approach to progressive politics, or his famous dictum to “speak softly and carry a big stick” in foreign policy. The avatar draws on decades of presidential writings and biographies to generate responses. Early conversations suggest the system handles both straightforward historical questions and nuanced inquiries about his era.
Technology Meets History
The library itself sits on a butte overlooking the Missouri River and Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The building’s gently sloping roof is covered with native grasses, blending the structure into the landscape. The AI experience sits inside this carefully designed space, merging physical architecture with digital innovation.
Visitors can now talk to a piece of American history, powered by the same AI technology reshaping how we work and learn.
