Category Archives: Artificial Intelligence

Advocacy, Artificial Intelligence, President's House.ai

The President’s House.ai

For more than 200 years, the nine enslaved Africans who lived in the Executive Mansion, located at 190 High (Market) Street in Philadelphia, were erased from history. This lost history was uncovered in 2002 and memorialized in the President’s House. The National Park Service site opened on December 15, 2010.

The story of slavery in the shadow of the Liberty Bell was whitewashed from the centennial, sesquicentennial and bicentennial celebrations of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

For the Semiquincentennial, we will breathe life into President George Washington’s enslaved workers and say their names – Austin, Christopher, Giles, Hercules, Joe, Moll, Ona, Paris and Richmond – with joy.

In 1926, a group of women, the Women’s Committee of the Philadelphia Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition, reconstructed Revolutionary era buildings on the fairgrounds in South Philadelphia.

The Daughters of the American Revolution sponsored the George Washington House, aka the President’s House.

The “High Street” exhibit included period-accurate reenactors. The exhibit presented an idealized view of the Revolutionary era. The existence of slavery in the Executive Mansion was left out of the history of 190 High Street.

In 2026, a group of activists, architects, technologists and historians will digitally reconstruct the original President’s House and outbuildings.

Instead of reenactors, we will create period-accurate AI avatars of the nine Black people enslaved by President Washington, including his chief cook, Hercules Posey.

In his book, Recollections and Private Memoirs of the Life and Character of Washington, George Washington Parke Custis, the president’s step-grandson, gave a detailed description of an outfit that Hercules wore:

While the masters of the republic were engaged in discussing the savory viands of the Congress dinner, the chief cook retired to make his toilet for an evening promenade. His perquisites from the slops of the kitchen were from one to two hundred dollars a year. Though homely in person, he lavished the most of these large avails upon dress. In making his toilet his linen was of unexceptionable whiteness and quality, then black silk shorts, ditto waistcoat, ditto stockings, shoes highly polished, with large buckles covering a considerable part of the foot, blue cloth coat with velvet collar and bright metal buttons, a long watch-chain dangling from his fob, a cocked-hat, and gold-headed cane completed the grand costume of the celebrated dandy (for there were dandies in those days) of the president’s kitchen.

Custis recalled “the chief cook invariably passed out at the front door.”

The President’s House.ai is currently in development. For more information or to get involved, contact Project Director Faye Anderson at presidentshouseAI@gmail.com.

Advocacy, Artificial Intelligence, President's House.ai, The President's House

The President’s House

The President’s House: Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation, an open-air installation, was dedicated on December 15, 2010. The National Park Service site pays homage to the nine enslaved people in the household of President George Washington – Austin, Christopher Sheels, Giles, Hercules, Joe, Moll, Oney Judge, Paris and Richmond.

The President’s House at Independence National Historical Park was born out of protest.

In a sign of the times, the President’s House is in the crosshairs of President Trump who wants to sugarcoat and whitewash American history. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports the site has been flagged for content review:

The President’s House Site, where Presidents George Washington and John Adams once lived, came under particular scrutiny with six exhibits flagged for review. The exhibit focuses on the contradictory coexistence of liberty and slavery during the founding of America and memorializes the people Washington enslaved.

For instance, park staff commented on a display titled “Life Under Slavery,” flagging that it “speaks of whipping, depriving of food, clothing, and shelter; as well as beating, torturing, and raping those they enslaved.”

[…]

Thirteen specific items spread across six exhibits at the site were identified for review.

This includes components of displays titled: “Life Under Slavery,” “History Lost & Found,” “The Executive Branch,” “The Dirty Business of Slavery,” “The House and the People Who Worked & Lived In It,” and an illustration with the words “An Act respecting fugitives from Justice,” in reference to Washington’s signing of the Fugitive Slave Act, according to an internal form, reviewed by The Inquirer, where employees were directed to submit their reviews.

In 2002, the NPS had planned to ignore the full and accurate history of the site. The Liberty Bell Center, then-under construction, is in the footprint of President Washington’s slave quarters (circled).

Attorney Michael Coard, a founder of Avenging The Ancestors Coalition, was a member of the President’s House Project Oversight Committee which oversaw development and construction of the site. Coard led the charge to tell the full story.

We will resist any attempt to erase the complicated history of this memorial site.

As we protest to preserve the physical structure and interpretive panels, we also will use digital technologies and 3D modeling to reconstruct the President’s House and outbuildings without constraint or compromise.

The President’s House.ai will be accessible to visitors on any device or browser anywhere in the world.

We will create AI-generated avatars of the nine African descendants enslaved by President Washington, including Ona Judge (1773-1848) and Hercules Posey (1748-1812).

Visitors to the President’s House.ai will be able to hold real-time conversations with the AI ancestors. The avatars’ training will be grounded in trusted primary and secondary sources.

AI Ona will spill the tea on how she escaped from bondage.

President Washington placed an advertisement in the May 24, 1796 edition of The Philadelphia Gazette and Universal Daily Advertiser offering a $10 reward (roughly $365 today) for the capture of Oney Judge.

As activists, historians, architects and technologists resist President Trump’s efforts to censor uncomfortable truths, the witless president unwittingly triggered the Streisand Effect.

Advocacy, Artificial Intelligence, Moses Williams

Independence Hall

As the descendant of enslaved people, I mourn the Fourth of July.

That said, Independence Hall has a prominent place in Black history.

Independence Hall is the place where the Second Continental Congress unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776; 34 of the 56 signers, including Thomas Jefferson, enslaved Black people.

Independence Hall is the place where the U.S. Constitution, which counted enslaved people as three-fifths of a person and mandated that freedom seekers be returned to bondage, was signed.

Independence Hall is the place where, from 1850 to 1854, hearings were held to return the self-emancipated to slavery under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.

Independence Hall is the place where master silhouette artist Moses Williams worked “every day and evening.”

I have nominated Moses for a Pennsylvania historical marker. If the nomination is approved, the marker will be installed near Independence Hall in 2026.

UPDATE: My nomination was approved. Moses Williams’ historical marker will be dedicated in 2026, the 250th anniversary of his birth.

In the meantime, All That Philly Jazz Founding Director Faye Anderson will lead a walking tour, Moses Williams’ Philadelphia.

Advocacy, Artificial Intelligence, Moses Williams

Meet Moses Williams

Moses Williams (1776-1830) was born into slavery in Philadelphia, one month after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Williams was enslaved by “Portrait Painter of the Revolution” Charles Willson Peale who, as a member of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, voted for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery Act of 1780.

While enslaved, Williams was a factotum at Peale’s Museum. He participated in the first paleontological expedition in the new republic. As a skilled taxidermist, Williams was instrumental in the reconstruction of Peale’s exhumed mastodon.

Manumitted in 1802, Williams operated a physiognotrace (face tracing) machine “every day and evening” at Peale’s Museum which was located on the second floor of the building now known as Independence Hall.

Working in anonymity, Williams became a master silhouette artist and contributed to the success of Peale’s Museum.

Williams’ silhouettes are on view at, among other places, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia Academy of the Fine Arts, Portrait Gallery in the Second Bank of the United States, The Peale Museum, Yale University Art Gallery, and in the archives of the American Philosophical Society.

Thomas Jefferson, president of the American Philosophical Society from 1797 to 1814, likely crossed paths with Williams whose silhouettes are on display in the Jefferson Library at Monticello.

Williams was the nation’s first Black museum professional. He excelled as a “cutter of profiles” and earned a place in history.

To recognize his impact on 19th century visual culture, All That Philly Founding Director Faye Anderson nominated Moses Williams for a Pennsylvania historical marker. If the nomination is approved, Williams’ marker will be dedicated in 2026, which is the 250th anniversary of both Williams’ birth and the Declaration of Independence.

Moses Williams will not be celebrated by President Trump’s Task Force 250, but we the people will say his name.

UPDATE: The nomination was approved. In 2026, the 250th anniversary of his birth, Moses Williams will be recognized with a Pennsylvania historical marker.

For too long, history remembered only his enslaver, Charles Willson Peale. This marker is a step toward telling the full story, reclaiming Williams’ legacy, and giving voice to the enslaved whose contributions shaped American art and culture.

In the meantime, Faye Anderson will lead a walking tour of Moses Williams’ Philadelphia.

Artificial Intelligence, Lee Morgan

Name That Tune

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During a community celebration of Lee Morgan, I felt like a contestant on the TV show “Name That Tune” except that I already knew the name of the tune. I was unexpectedly stumped by a seemingly innocuous question: Why did Lee Morgan name his smash hit “The Sidewinder?”


I had a vague recollection but not a good answer. So after the event, I asked my research assistant, ChatGPT, why the tune is titled “The Sidewinder.” As is their wont, the chatbot hallucinated:

“The Sidewinder” is a well-known jazz composition by trumpeter Lee Morgan, released in 1964. The title of the song is believed to have been inspired by a dance move called “The Sidewinder” that was popular at the time.

The dance move involved a sideways shuffle or sway, often accompanied by a swinging motion of the hips. It was a trendy dance step in the early 1960s, particularly in urban dance clubs and social gatherings.

A Facebook friend said the title “was inspired by a TV show that he used to watch.” And then the light bulb went off. The answer was right in front of me. In the album liner notes,” Lee told Leonard Feather: “The tune kind of put me in mind of the sidewinder – you know, the ‘bad guy’ on television.”


Lee never identified which TV show or bad guy. Popular Westerns in the 1950s and early ‘60s included “Gunsmoke,” “Have Gun, Will Travel,” “Rawhide,” “The Rifleman” and “The Virginian.” Lee’s nephew, Darryl Morgan Cox, told me his uncle liked “Bonanza.”


I asked ChatGPT about the bad guy on “Bonanza.” Their response:

That said, a few notable adversaries or recurring characters who caused trouble for the Cartwrights include:

Outlaws and Criminals: The show featured various episodes involving outlaws, bandits, and criminals who posed threats to the Cartwrights and their community.

Rival Ranchers: At times, the Cartwrights clashed with rival ranchers and landowners over disputes involving territory, water rights, or cattle.

Corrupt Officials: Occasionally, the Cartwrights faced challenges from corrupt lawmen, government officials, or individuals abusing their authority.

Personal Enemies: Some episodes explored conflicts arising from personal vendettas or longstanding feuds between characters.

Overall, while “Bonanza” did not have a central group of recurring “bad guys,” the show’s episodic format allowed for a variety of conflicts and adversaries to be introduced, contributing to its long-lasting popularity and appeal.

I was still curious about the dance move named the “sidewinder” so I prompted my other research assistant, Google Gemini:

It’s possible the “sidewinder” refers to a more specific dance within a particular dance community or cultural context. If you have additional information about where you encountered the term “sidewinder” dance, I might be able to provide more specific information.

It’s possible ChatGPT was tripping. The dance move the chatbot describes sounds like Aretha Franklin’s “Rock Steady.”

Artificial Intelligence, Public Art

Keeping Hope Alive on Philadelphia Courthouse Mural

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I was on jury duty last week. During breaks, I checked out one of my favorite works of public art. When I first saw the Philadelphia Courthouse Mural in 2016, I nearly passed out. The panoramic mural has more stories about Philadelphia jazz than any source other than this website.

I was stumped by a previously overlooked image of a saxophonist who is described as “a major player in Philadelphia jazz.” I could not make out the name because the image is small and waist-high.

All That Philly Jazz is crowdsourced. With the advent of generative artificial intelligence (AI), I did not have to turn to the wisdom of the crowd. Instead, I asked my new research assistants, ChatGPT and Google Bard. They identified the saxophonist – Lynn Hope – in mere seconds.

Photography is not allowed in the Juanita Kidd Stout Center for Criminal Justice. When I told the court officer that I was documenting Philadelphia’s jazz history, she said OK but be quick.

Lynn Hope, also known as El Hajj Abdullah Rasheed Ahmad, was a band leader and tenor saxophonist who was popular in the late 1950s and early ‘60s. After converting to Islam, he wore his trademark turban. Hope and his band toured Africa, Europe and the Middle East. In 1950, he had a crossover hit with “Tenderly.”

Hope was the top star at the legendary Show Boat under the ownership of Herb Keller.

Hope faded into obscurity in the late ‘60s. After his jazz heyday, he held a variety of jobs, including cab driver (as noted on the mural). Hope joined the ancestors on February 24, 1993.

Artificial Intelligence, Lee Morgan

Lee Morgan and ChatGPT

Excitement is building as we plan the unveiling of Lee Morgan’s historical marker.

We still have to finalize the marker text. Lee was an innovator so I asked ChatGPT about the legendary jazz trumpeter. With the exception of “common-law wife,” the response is eerily accurate. A common-law marriage is not permitted in New York State. In any case, Lee was legally married to Kiko Yamamoto at the time of his death.

When I asked whether Lee has a historical marker, ChatGPT made stuff up. In AI-speak, the chatbot “hallucinated.”

In an interview with Lesley Stahl of CBS’ “60 Minutes,” cognitive scientist and AI researcher Gary Marcus called it “authoritative bullshit”:

I actually like to call what it creates “authoritative bullshit.” It blends the truth and falsity so finely together that, unless you’re a real technical expert in the field they’re talking about, you don’t know.

Check out the full episode, “ChatGPT: Artificial Intelligence, chatbots and a world of unknowns.”