On the occasion of Tuesday’s International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands visited the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam to launch a bot for Facebook Messenger. The Artificial Intelligence-powered bot is designed to provide people with information on the life story of Anne Frank in a personalized chat conversation, as well as practical visitor information on the Anne Frank House.
Prince Constantijn, the Netherlands’ StartupDelta Special Envoy, said in a statement: “There is a growing community of start-ups in the Netherlands to grab the chances new technologies offer. This bot, developed by a start-up, is more than a fun gadget. It is a way to reach people all over the world and inform them about Anne Frank’s life and warn them of the risks and effects of racism and discrimination. That is ultimately what new technologies should be used for: to better our lives and concur the challenges society faces.”
With more than 1 billion users monthly, Messenger is one of the most used mobile platforms globally, and gives the Anne Frank House an opportunity to engage with people around the world in a very personal way. The Anne Frank House is one of the first museums worldwide to use this technology on the Messenger platform.
With the introduction of the Anne Frank House bot for Messenger, future visitors can receive personalized and instant answers to questions 24 hours a day. The bot is designed to inspire people to not only absorb visitor-related information, but also to discover educational information about the life of Anne Frank.
Ronald Leopold, managing director Anne Frank Foundation: “We want to share the life story of Anne Frank with as many people as possible. People from all over the world can now receive instant answers to their questions about Anne Frank, her family, Anne’s diary, and the era they lived in. With this bot, Facebook Netherlands offers us an innovative possibility to reach a big audience, especially youngsters.”