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Ever wanted to learn about Illinois from President Lincoln firsthand? An absurd question not long ago now is an actual opportunity for Illinoisians through the state’s use of artificial intelligence.
The Illinois Office of Tourism partnered with Matador in early June to release the first U.S. state AI travel guide to help people learn and explore Illinois from their phone.
Meet “Big Lincoln,” the handheld 16th President of the United States, who’s now telling you the best place to eat in town.
The AI president shares the same bobblehead look and name as Illinois’ official mascot, which has been featured in international mascot competitions in the past.
“He turns up to sports games, car races and everyone loves him,” Illinois Office of Tourism Deputy Director Daniel Thomas said. “What was interesting is Big Lincoln doesn’t speak. So, he’s a very thoughtful person and his persona is more about his legacy. We thought what is a great way to bring Lincoln to life?”
Big Lincoln can answer direct questions about recommended places to eat, or more thorough questions about weather and multiple stops along the road trip.
The use of AI to answer questions for any traveler is what drew the attention of the states' tourism office, as 64% of tourists are turning to AI in some form to help complete their trip.
Thomas said he was skeptical of using ChatGPT early on, but decided now was the time to invest and make travel entertainingly practical for people coming to Illinois.
“The data and accuracy just weren’t as critical for me, so we wanted to take the time to really monitor how people were using it,” Thomas said. “What rose to the top for us is that people want to use it as an enhancement tool and younger generations want to ask it direct questions.”
Asking the bot certain questions about Springfield and the state, the AI misidentified Sen. Doris Turner as a State Representative. After speaking with Thomas, a change has already been made to the bot, which is still a work in progress to be accurate.
“It’s also a learning tool like an algorithm so while we’ve done nine months of testing, if things come up that are factually incorrect, we have the ability to kind of correct them as we go.” Thomas said. “For us it’s mitigated risk – we see it as an enhancement tool and there is risk with any tool.”
After several months of testing and working with Matador, the AI tool costs $60,000 annually through a subscription basis to operate.
The AI is meant to be usable from any device during any time of day as a tool, so jobs at the Office will operate as normal working alongside the AI pocket companion.
It is worth noting chatbots based around ChatGPT use a lot of energy to live.
OpenAI's ChatGPT, the basis for Big Lincoln, is reported to consume over half a million kilowatt-hours daily, servicing approximately 200 million user requests. The consumption is larger than the daily energy usable of a U.S. household 17 thousand times over.
In a University of Washington interview with a computer engineering assistant professor, training an AI can consume 400 watts of power to operate and a similar amount to cool down – meaning the potential energy consumption to train a single AI is equivalent to the electrical consumption of 1,000 households in the states.
The AI president is powered by GuideGeek and is a custom version of the tool, which is built off of ChatGPT. ChatGPT is a model that interacts in a dialogue format and can keep conversations going, which trains the tool using reinforcement learning from human feedback. The persona of Lincoln was crafted by GuideGeek feeding the bot responses the historical figure would make: wise, thoughtful and straight to the point answers.
More: Local broadcast family leaves Illinois radio broadcast industry selling remaining stations
The bot first collects information to use in response from the Illinois Office of Tourism website, before turning to previous conversations with humans and publicly available text to give an answer.
“GuideGeek has over 1,000 integrations for things like real-time flight data, weather and currency exchanges,” Matador CEO Ross Borden said in a statement.
Everyone knows ChatGPT bots will sometimes catch you off guard with just what it will spurt out. Borden says to curb the conversation going off track, guide rails in the system are set up so the conversation only stays on tourism.
The State Journal-Register tested those guard rails thoroughly and found them to work nine times out of 10. The personified Lincoln does a good job of politely steering the conversation away from his foot size or his favorite taco and back to tourism.
To try "Big Lincoln," enjoyillinois.com is the place to go to find the virtual president. Look for the icon on the bottom right corner and from there users can type in questions about travel and tourism; in a few moments the bot can provide a broad overview of a multi-day trip, down to a specific recommendation based on the question.
Claire Grant writes about business, growth and development and other news topics for The State Journal-Register. She can be reached at [email protected]; and on X (Formerly known as Twitter): @Claire_Granted
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Illinois launches new AI Abraham Lincoln bot to help tourists
FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump, left, and Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, attend the Republican National Convention, July 15, 2024, in Milwaukee. Vice President Kamala Harris and her Democratic allies are increasingly branding Trump and Vance as "weird." Democrats are applying the label with gusto in interviews and online. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File) AP
JD Vance ’s “childless cat ladies” comment wasn’t a one-off remark .
A new video of Donald Trump ’s choice for vice president surfaced where Vance said people who don’t have children are more likely to be “sociopathic,” “psychotic” and “deranged.”
It comes after video from his bid for the Senate in Ohio on Fox News show him saying “we are effectively run in this country via the Democrats,” and referred to them as “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too.”
The latest video is from 2020 on a conservative podcast. Here’s what Vance had to say:
“There are just these basic cadences of life that I think are really powerful and really valuable when you have kids in your life and the fact that so many people - especially in America’s leadership class - just don’t have that in their lives.
“I worry that it makes people more sociopathic and ultimately, our whole country, a little bit less mentally stable. …
“The final point I’ll make is you go on Twitter and almost always the people who are most deranged and most psychotic are people who don’t have kids at home.”
Unearthed video: JD Vance says people who don’t have children are “sociopathic,” “psychotic,” and “deranged” pic.twitter.com/jaqL6BsXXF — Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) July 30, 2024
The recirculated comment may be a sign of the GOP ticket’s troubles appealing to women voters, and on the issue of reproductive rights. It follows the explosive entrance in the race of Kamala Harris , who secured the support of enough delegates to become the official nominee in less than 32 hours after Joe Biden ended his reelection bid.
It also lays out some of the fears expressed by strategists that Trump took a political risk in picking a running mate who has been in Congress less than two years and is largely untested on a bigger stage. Trump liked Vance’s telegenic qualities and said he reminded him of “a young Abraham Lincoln.”
Vance, 39, is a former Marine and businessman who was first elected to public office in 2022. He wrote the 2016 bestseller “Hillbilly Elegy,” and developed a strong rapport with Trump, his son Donald Trump Jr. and leading MAGA figures with his personal story of growing up in Appalachia in poverty with a mother battling drug addiction could resonate with voters.
One of the major questions Vance is facing is on his abortion stance. Vance previously said he would support a federal bill to prohibit abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, but believes in certain exceptions.
In 2021, Vance floated an idea to allow parents to cast ballots on behalf of their children, saying during a speech at the conservative nonprofit Intercollegiate Studies Institute in Virginia that people who don’t have children “don’t have as much of an investment in the future of the country.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Domenico Montanaro
President Biden speaks during an address to the nation about his decision to not seek reelection in the Oval Office at the White House on Wednesday. Evan Vucci/Pool/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
For the latest on race for president, head to NPR's Election 2024 page.
It’s not often that a politician takes a step back.
They are often their own biggest champions. But in rare cases, when the writing is on the wall, because of age, health — or politics, they do.
In an address to the nation from the Oval Office Wednesday night, President Biden said he will serve out his term as president, noting there are still things he wants to accomplish. But he explained that he is not seeking reelection, in part, because he wants to “pass the torch to a new generation.”
Here are four takeaways from what Biden had to say:
“Nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy,” Biden said. “That includes personal ambition.”
It was a remarkable statement for Biden, 81, who has held public office for more than half a century and ran for president multiple times — unsuccessfully until Donald Trump came along — and was ushered into office at 78 years old, the oldest person ever to be elected president.
Biden invoked past presidents — Abraham Lincoln, he said, urged Americans to “reject malice;” Franklin Delano Roosevelt implored the country to “reject fear.” He cited George Washington, who, by stepping aside after two terms despite his popularity, “showed us presidents are not kings.”
“I revere this office,” Biden said, “but I love my country more. It's been the honor of my life to serve as your president, but in the defense of democracy, which is at stake, I think it's more important than any title.”
In other words, Vice President Harris gives those who see former President Trump as an existential threat to that democracy the best chance to win because of Biden’s diminished capabilities to prosecute the case against him.
It's a case that Biden sees as necessary for someone to make effectively, considering Trump's unwillingness to accept the results of the 2020 election and his refusal to agree to accept the results of the upcoming election.
In Washington’s farewell address on Sept. 19, 1796, he also warned that “cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.”
“The great thing about America is,” Biden said, “here, kings and dictators do not rule; the people do.”
Biden and others see that foundational American principle as lost on someone like Trump, who, when he visited Mount Vernon, Washington’s estate in Virginia, in 2019 with French President Emmanuel Macron, said of the nation’s first president, per Politico :
“If he was smart, he would’ve put his name on it. You’ve got to put your name on stuff or no one remembers you.”
President Joe Biden pauses before he addresses the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Wednesday about his decision to drop his Democratic presidential reelection bid. Evan Vucci/Pool/via AP hide caption
The president cited the need for unity among Americans multiple times:
“America is going to have to choose between moving forward or backward, between hope and hate, between unity and division.” “In this moment, we can see those we disagree with not as enemies, but as fellow Americans.” “The sacred cause of this country is larger than any one of us, and those of us who cherish that cause … a cause of American democracy itself, [we] must unite to protect it.” “So I've decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. That's the best way to unite our nation.” “Let's act together, preserve our democracy.”
The idea of uniting the country is something Biden ran on in 2020. But it hasn’t worked out that way. He’s been sharply criticized by the right and views of him — in this hyperpolarized environment where people get their information largely from sources that reinforce their previously held beliefs — are as partisan as any president before him, including Trump.
Just 43% said they had a favorable view of Biden, according to an NPR/PBS News/Marist poll taken before the debate between him and Trump. That included just 38% of independents and only 10% of Republicans.
Biden defended his legacy and laid out what he believes he’s accomplished and what he still hopes to do.
“I believe my record as president, my leadership in the world, my vision for America's future, all merited a second term,” he said, “but nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy. That includes personal ambition.”
The latest NPR poll , taken this week after Biden said he would not continue to run for reelection, tested what people think of his presidency. It showed most, right now, are unimpressed.
Despite the record of legislative accomplishments Biden cited, only slightly more than a quarter of respondents said he would be remembered as an above average president or one of the best presidents in U.S. history. Half said he would be remembered as below average or one of the worst.
Those views can change with time, especially when a president is no longer in the political arena. President Obama’s favorability, for example, has improved since leaving office and views of his signature legislative achievement, the Affordable Care Act, have hit record highs.
A 2022 survey of historians found Biden rated as the 19th best president of the 46 that have served. Trump was in the bottom five at No. 43. But, at this point, Americans overall, feel differently.
Vice President Harris speaks to supporters during a campaign rally at West Allis Central High School on Tuesday in West Allis, Wis. Jim Vondruska/Getty Images hide caption
Biden could have made the determination years ago, after saying he would be a “transitional” president during the 2020 election, that he would not run for reelection.
But the realities of his personal limitations after his dismal debate performance last month, and how his political support had cratered in swing states led to this moment.
For years now, Democrats have been holding their breath with every public appearance he made. They crossed their fingers that he would acquit himself at least decently well, but they knew one bad speech, interview or… debate… could sink his — and their party’s — chances to hold onto the White House.
After watching Harris' first couple of days of campaigning, from her first speech before staffers to her first official campaign rally in Wisconsin, Democrats have been breathing a bit easier.
She has spoken clearly and coherently, and there has been energy from the grassroots. Whether that lasts or if it resonates with swing voters is still to be decided.
Biden didn’t explicitly lay out Wednesday night why he stepped aside, but watching what was an, at times, halting address, the contrast was like night and day.
It was very much a moment in history with a president, who appeared in many ways, to be delivering something of his own farewell. He was recognizing he cannot be as effective a campaigner as he would have liked, so he is taking a step back from the public eye, handing over the reins of the campaign to his vice president for the next 103 critical days in American democracy.
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“The best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation,” the president said in a rare Oval Office address. And he told voters, “History is in your hands.”
President Biden delivered remarks from the Oval Office on Wednesday on his decision to abandon his bid for re-election. The following is a transcript of his speech, as recorded by The New York Times.
My fellow Americans, I’m speaking to you tonight from behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office. In this sacred space, I’m surrounded by portraits of extraordinary American presidents. Thomas Jefferson wrote the immortal words that guide this nation. George Washington showed us presidents are not kings. Abraham Lincoln implored us to reject malice. Franklin Roosevelt inspired us to reject fear.
I revere this office, but I love my country more. It’s been the honor of my life to serve as your president. But in the defense of democracy, which is at stake, I think it’s more important than any title. I draw strength and find joy in working for the American people. But this sacred task of perfecting our union is not about me, it’s about you. Your families, your futures.
It’s about we the people. And we can never forget that. And I never have. I’ve made it clear that I believe America is at an inflection point. On those rare moments in history, when the decisions we make now determine our fate of our nation and the world for decades to come, America is going to have to choose between moving forward or backward, between hope and hate, between unity and division.
We have to decide: Do we still believe in honesty, decency, respect, freedom, justice and democracy. In this moment, we can see those we disagree with not as enemies but as, I mean, fellow Americans — can we do that? Does character in public life still matter? I believe you know the answer to these questions because I know you the American people, and I know this:
We are a great nation because we are a good people. When you elected me to this office, I promised to always level with you, to tell you the truth. And the truth, the sacred cause of this country, is larger than any one of us. Those of us who cherry that cause cherish it so much. The cause of American democracy itself. We must unite to protect it.
In recent weeks, it has become clear to me that I need to unite my party in this critical endeavor. I believe my record as president, my leadership in the world, my vision for America’s future, all merited a second term. But nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy. That includes personal ambition.
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Abraham Lincoln books far outnumber those about any other US president. Here are ten of the best Lincoln biographies …. 1. Lincoln. by David Herbert Donald. Many critics agree that if you are only going to read one Abraham Lincoln biography this is the one to read….
Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years. by Carl Sandberg. Originally published in six volumes, Sandburg's Abraham Lincoln was called "the greatest historical biography of our generation.". Sandburg distilled this work into one volume that became one of the definitive books on Abraham Lincoln.
1 Lincoln on the Verge: Thirteen Days to Washington by Ted Widmer. 2 Lincoln's Sword: The Presidency and the Power of Words by Douglas L Wilson. 3 Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words that Remade America by Garry Wills. 4 Emancipating Lincoln: The Proclamation in Text, Context, and Memory by Harold Holzer. 5 They Knew Lincoln by John E Washington.
10. Honor's Voice: The Transformation of Abraham Lincoln. by Douglas Wilson. This Lincoln biography explores the early years of Lincoln's political career. "As Douglas L. Wilson shows us in Honor's Voice, Lincoln's transformation was not one long triumphal march, but a process that was more than once seriously derailed.".
Battle Cry Of Freedom. The Civil War Era. By James M. McPherson. Purchase. But Lincoln's political persona is but one dimension of the man. Andy Ferguson, senior editor of The Weekly Standard and ...
Abraham Lincoln (born February 12, 1809, near Hodgenville, Kentucky, U.S.—died April 15, 1865, Washington, D.C.) was the 16th president of the United States (1861-65), who preserved the Union during the American Civil War and brought about the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States. Lincoln and his cabinet.
I'd like to read my first book about Lincoln, but I don't know which one to choose. Which one would you recommend of the following three: Ronald White's "A. Lincoln: A Biography". David Herbert Donald's "Lincoln". Doris Kearns Goodwin's "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln".
Abraham Lincoln was the 16 th president of the United States, serving from 1861 to 1865, and is regarded as one of America's greatest heroes due to his roles in guiding the Union through the ...
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Jon Meacham chronicles the life of Abraham Lincoln, charting how—and why—he confronted secession, threats to democracy, and the tragedy of slavery to expand the possibilities of America. "Meacham has given us the Lincoln for our time."—Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Winner of the Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize • Longlisted for ...
Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, to Nancy and Thomas Lincoln in a one-room log cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky. His family moved to southern Indiana in 1816. Lincoln's ...
Abraham Lincoln spent only four of his 56 years as president of the United States. Yet, given the importance of the events that marked his 1861-65 term of office, the nation's admiration for him as a man of courage and principle, and the abundance of photographic images that recorded his presidency, it is hard for most people to think of him as anything else.
Lincoln's Battle with God: A President's Struggle with Faith and What It Meant for America by Stephen Mansfield. "Abraham Lincoln is the most beloved of all U.S. presidents. He freed the slaves, gave the world some of its most beautiful phrases, and redefined the meaning of America.
ABE Abraham Lincoln in His Times By David S. Reynolds. Of the 16,000 books produced about Abraham Lincoln since his death 155 years ago, not one, in the view of the historian and biographer David ...
Abraham Lincoln books far outnumber those about any other US president. Here are ten of the best Lincoln biographies …. 2. Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. by James McPherson. This Pulitzer-prize winner is a well-crafted narrative of Abraham Lincoln's presidency during the Civil War.
Now in paperback, this award-winning biography has been hailed as the definitive portrait of Lincoln.Named One of the 10 Top Lincoln Books by Chicago TribuneNamed One of the 5 Best Books of 2009 by The AtlanticWinner, 2008 PROSE Award for Best Book in U.S. History and Biography/Autobiography, Association of American PublishersWinner, 2010 Lincoln Prize from the Civil War Institute at ...
There are about 15,000 books on Abraham Lincoln — here are the 7 you should read. Insider Picks. 2015-02-12T19:01:00Z ... "A. Lincoln: A Biography" by Ronald C. White Jr. Amazon
The story Donald tells is by now familiar. Born in 1809 in a one‑room log cabin in frontier Kentucky, the son of undistinguished parents, Lincoln, with less than a year of formal schooling, rose ...
Abraham Lincoln was sworn into office on March 1, 1861 as the 16th president of the United States of America. As a result of his out-of-this-world heroics in the heat of the American Civil War, Lincoln won a second term in 1864. The Lincoln-Johnson pairing sent a strong message to the South. Image: Poster for the Lincoln and Johnson ticket by ...
At least 15,000 books have been written about Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States. If you wish to learn about the man who led the North during the American Civil War and issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862 then you are not going to be restricted by choice. (AbeBooks alone has more than 67,000 copies of books with 'Abraham Lincoln' in the title).
A new biography by historian Jon Meacham examines the oft-discussed life and legacy of former President Abraham Lincoln through a very specific lens. American presidents continue to lionize ...
Lincoln's service in the militia during the Black Hawk War and his subsequent political career exemplify his dedication to public service and the defense of the nation. On Feb. 12, 1809, Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was born in a log cabin in Hardin (now LaRue) County, Kentucky.
Abraham Lincoln books far outnumber those about any other US president. Here are ten of the best Lincoln biographies …. 3. A. Lincoln: A Biography. by Ronald White, Jr. Some sources, including USA TODAY, claim that his is the best 1-volume bio of Lincoln, and it won a slew of awards when it came out in 2009.
In 1861, Vice President John Breckinridge oversaw the counting of electoral votes that made Abraham Lincoln president, at a time when Southern states seceded from the country rather than accept ...
Illinois Office of Tourism's mascot Big Lincoln poses at an event on Aug. 15, 2022. Big Lincoln recently has been digitized into an AI helping tourists plan itineraries around the land of Lincoln.
Abe Lincoln is one of the most well known previous Presidents in the United States and his driven efforts to make America one of the best countries in the world is respected by many. His motivation to help people who could not help themselves inspired others, but unfortunately, today, many Americans are still suffering in poverty, one hundred ...
Trump liked Vance's telegenic qualities and said he reminded him of "a young Abraham Lincoln." Vance, 39, is a former Marine and businessman who was first elected to public office in 2022.
Biden invoked past presidents — Abraham Lincoln, he said, urged Americans to "reject malice;" Franklin Delano Roosevelt implored the country to "reject fear."
Abraham Lincoln implored us to reject malice. Franklin Roosevelt inspired us to reject fear. I revere this office, but I love my country more. It's been the honor of my life to serve as your ...