Certainty lab / Arieh Diaries
Arieh DiariesWhen a diary meets AI
A journey through personal memories, history and artificial intelligence. A pioneer’s diary becomes a space for conversation, imagery and discovery.
Discover the story
From handwritten notebooks to an AI system
1930
Arieh’s handwritten notebooks
The original diaries: memories, thoughts and experiences recorded in Arieh’s own handwriting.
1 / 52019
The diaries become a book
The notebooks are edited and collected into a bound book, preserving Arieh’s story.
2021
The book becomes an app and website
The story moves from page to screen, opening up a digital space for reading.
2025
The website becomes an AI system
The diary meets artificial intelligence and becomes a space for conversation, imagery and discovery.
01 / The story
A pioneer’s diary. A new way to listen.
Arieh Zaks was born in Lithuania in 1912. His diaries document his experiences in Lithuania, his immigration to the Land of Israel and his life as a kibbutz pioneer. The project connects a family story and its historical record with today’s technology.
At the heart of the project is the ability to interact with the diaries through ChatGPT: to encounter Arieh’s perspective, ask questions and find new ways into written material. Its aim is to make this rich historical content accessible, preserve it and bring it to life.
It is important to understand: the full content of the diaries has been transferred from the book into an AI system, so the content can now be communicated and interacted with through artificial intelligence.
Converse with the diaries
Ask questions and explore Arieh’s story through his writing.
Words become images
Illustrations and visual interpretations inspired by events and periods in the diaries.
Give information structure
Create tables from diary content and discover passages by topic.
Opens in ChatGPT; sign-in may be required.
02 / A voice from the diaries
A life, in his words
Passages presented on the project site, where they were retrieved using AI. Diary references are reproduced from that site and have not been verified against the manuscripts; English passages are translations.
Childhood in Lithuania
“When my father died, I had to take on responsibility at a very young age. I was only six, and grief at his loss and the need to support my family left a deep mark on me. My mother worked hard to provide for us, and I had to help in every way possible.”
Training in Memel
“During training in Memel, I worked in various jobs and learned a great deal about community life. It was a challenging but fulfilling time, as we dreamed together of a future in the Land of Israel. Work at the brewery in Czechoslovakia was not easy, but the experiences there would help me later in life.”
Arrival in the Land of Israel
“In the summer of 1936, I finally received the long-awaited certificate and could immigrate to the Land of Israel. I arrived at Givat Brenner and worked in the orchards, digging basins around the trees. Despite the difficulties, I felt I had fulfilled a dream and begun a new life with hope for a better future.”
Jewish life in Europe: from memory to image
The project paired passages found using AI with illustrations created for them.
“During the period in which I wrote the diary, the 1930s, Jews in Europe experienced a very complex and challenging time. Here are some key points I described in my diary.”
“I remember being only ten or eleven. I travelled with a merchant from Piora... In that town we lived with the families of my mother’s sisters. We had a textile shop and lived comfortably. That was before the war. When war began, we could no longer live peacefully; we had to gather our bundles, goods and possessions and flee.”
“For Jews in 1930s Europe, life included growing threats from antisemitic movements and hostile states, alongside economic and social difficulties. It was a period of profound change that led many to emigrate or seek other solutions.”
03 / The gallery
The wonders of AI
We asked AI for images of Arieh using realistic, modern and other prompts.
Then and now
An illustrated style for social media. A selfie against the training fields.
Lithuania 1934
Fence construction at Ramat Hakovesh
Naive painting style: Arieh took part in building the fence along the northern border.
Ramat Hakovesh 1938
An Instagram image
We asked for an Instagram image of Arieh that reflects past and present together.
Streets of Lithuania 1932
Training in Memel
A photographic simulation. Arieh doing agricultural work during training.
Memel, Lithuania 1934
Arieh as a hipster
We asked for an image of young Arieh on the streets of Lithuania, with a hipster look.
Lithuania 1930
Immigration to the Land of Israel
A photorealistic image aboard a ship, with Arieh looking towards the horizon.
1936
04 / Diary · AI · Fashion
A life seen through fashion
From the website’s fashion page: a visual journey connecting personal memories, clothing and culture. AI imagines Arieh across periods of his life, from childhood in Lithuania through training in Memel to life at Givat Brenner.
Childhood in Lithuania
An embroidered cotton shirt, striped trousers and a straw hat against a village landscape. The gallery imagines Arieh’s childhood through period clothing: simple natural fabrics in the countryside, contrasted with suits, felt hats and leather shoes in town.
Training in Memel
Pioneer workwear: a cotton shirt, trousers with suspenders and tall boots. Cultivated fields and a wooden house frame an imagined view of working and communal life during training in Lithuania.
The journey to the Land of Israel
A ship’s deck, sails and blue sea. This imagined journey combines embroidered shirts, shorts, suspenders and newsboy caps as part of the project’s visual interpretation of the period.
The first year at Givat Brenner
A white shirt, brown trousers, suspenders and work boots appear alongside other clothing. Orchards and kibbutz buildings illustrate agricultural work and the beginning of life in the country.
05 / Journey map
A life’s journey in one image
From Lithuania, through training in Memel, to the Land of Israel, Givat Brenner and Ramat Hakovesh. The project’s journey map brings together the places where Arieh lived and worked with people, migration ships, synagogues, and Jewish and Zionist symbols.
An AI-created artistic interpretation, not a verified historical or geographical map.
How the map was created
- 01
Gather information
Life stages, people and significant events from the diaries.
- 02
Write a detailed description
Bring together places, periods, people and symbols.
- 03
Generate the image
Use the description in DALL-E to create the illustration.
- 04
Review and refine
Check the result against the description and add details, as described on the source site.
Between documentation and imagination
An imagined postcard from Mother
The project asked AI to write and illustrate an imagined postcard from Arieh’s mother. This is an AI-created literary work, not an original letter or archival document.
AI fiction · Lithuania, August 1938 (within the story)
To my dear son Arieh,
Hello, my beloved son. Two years have passed since I last saw your face when you left for the Land of Israel, and my heart longs for you. I write with a heavy heart, full of worry and longing.
Here in Europe, clouds are gathering above us. The situation worsens day by day, and troubling news reaches us from every direction. Every day I pray for your safety and success in your new country. I know you are doing well in your work and contribution to the kibbutz, and that strengthens my heart in these difficult days.
Things at home are not easy. Money is scarce, and your siblings do all they can to help. Your brother Avramel continues taking occasional jobs. We try to remain strong and not lose hope. As you taught us, we try to find the good in every situation, even when it is difficult.
Please write soon and tell us about your life; it will give us strength to carry on. Take care of yourself, my dear son, and remember that we think of you every day and pray for your safety.
With love and longing, Mother, Lithuania, August 1938
A learning experience, not just a reading experience
The source website also includes an AI-created diary quiz: for example, what work Arieh began after immigrating, when he became politically and socially active, and how he met his wife Sharka. Explore it on the original project website.
Arieh Diaries / Diary & AI
Step into Arieh’s world
Continue to the original website to converse with the diaries, explore the galleries and discover the connection between memory, culture and artificial intelligence.
Explore the original projectContent and imagery are based on the Arieh Diaries website and its fashion gallery. The visual interpretations are AI creations, not historical photographs; the postcard is fictional.
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