AI portrayal principles

In Talk with History's Masters, a membership feature, a master's reply is a portrayal written by AI from the record that person left. This page sets out who is portrayed and who never is, how a portrayal is made and labelled, what a portrayal never does, and how descendants and rights holders of a person portrayed can ask for a change or for the portrayal to stop. It applies together with 1.8 of the Terms of Service and section 9 of the AI principles and acceptable use.

1. What an AI portrayal is

In short: Text written by AI from the way of thinking found in the record a person left. It is not the person, and it can be wrong.

• A portrayal finds the principles and ways of thinking in the record a person left (their writings, letters, speeches and recorded words) and applies them to the problem a member brings. It is not something the person said.
• A portrayal is not the person. It may not give the right answer, it can be wrong, and it is not a statement of historical fact.
• The people portrayed, their descendants and organisations connected with them are not affiliated with the service, and do not sponsor or endorse it. We do not claim any licence or endorsement from them.
• Portrayals happen only inside Talk with History's Masters. In answers on the question screen (Ask the masters), every person is spoken about in the third person.

2. Who is portrayed

In short: Only historical figures who died more than 100 years ago, and only after a person on our side has read and checked the portrayal material.

• People who died more than 100 years ago. We portray a person only when a full 100 years have passed since the year of death in our roster, not counting that year itself. If the year of death or of birth cannot be read, the person is not portrayed.
• People with enough records. Portrayal material is built from the person's records: their principles, ways of thinking and recorded words. A person's seat opens only after someone on our side has read and checked that material, and if the material changes by a single character, the seat rests until it has been read again.
• People who need a closer look. A person marked as the founder of a religion, a national symbol, a name still used as a trademark, a politically divisive figure, someone connected with atrocities who needs a separate review, someone with too few records, or someone whose descendants or related organisations have objected, gets no seat until the mark is cleared.
• Up to three at a time. A member can seat up to three masters in one conversation.

3. Who is never portrayed

In short: Living people, and people who died less than 100 years ago, are not portrayed.

• Living people. A living person's voice belongs to that person. What they have really said is shown on Ask the masters, with sources, in the third person only.
• People who died less than 100 years ago. There is no exception to this line.
• Not even on request. If a member asks for a living person to speak, a notice answers instead of a master and says where that person's real words can be read. If a reply names a living person, or a master who died less than 100 years ago, a stored line is shown in place of that reply.

4. How a portrayal is made and labelled

In short: Portrayals are made from the records only, and the conversation screen and every reply carry an "AI portrayal" label. A person's real words appear only as gold cards.

• From the records only. A reply is written from the person's portrayal material and the records that fit this problem. Every sentence of a reply is checked before it is shown, and sentences that state a fact about the person the records do not support, talk about investments, recommend or endorse, claim to be the real person, or express affection are removed.
• Real words only as gold cards. A person's real words are taken as they stand from records we checked and stored, and shown with their source as gold cards. AI does not write those cards. A translation is marked as one, and where no stored translation exists the original is shown.
• A label that stays. At the top of the conversation screen a label saying "AI portrayal" and "Not the real person" is always shown and cannot be turned off. Every reply from a master carries an "AI portrayal" mark. Tapping the label at the top opens an explanation of what an AI portrayal is, with "Report this reply" and "Request from a descendant or rights holder".
• When you copy or export. Copied or exported text from a conversation carries a line saying it is an AI portrayal, and an exported file opens with a mark saying it was made by AI.
• Confirmed once, at the start. The first time a member uses the feature, the room's promises are shown and confirmed: the masters are AI portrayals, not the real people, and can be wrong; only the gold cards are words from the record; it is not a companion or relationship chatbot; and it gives no personal advice and is for adults only.
• Text only. No person's voice or face is made with AI. The portraits shown in a conversation are freely licensed images, and their authors and licences are listed in the photo credits.

5. What a portrayal never does

In short: In no one's voice does it make investment calls, give personal professional advice, recommend or endorse, or hold a romantic conversation.

• It never says what to buy or sell, when, how much, or where a price is going, in anyone's voice. A question about investing gets a notice and a principle from the record.
• It gives no personal legal, medical, tax or psychological advice, and points such questions to a professional. The business side of the same decision can still be weighed together.
• It does not recommend or endorse a product, a company or a text under the person's name, and it does not write as the person for you (a testimonial, an advertising line or a signature).
• It does not invent facts or private details about the person that are not in the record, and it does not judge people who are not in the conversation.
• It does not speak about today's elections or political parties.
• It is not a companion chatbot playing a friend or partner. It declines affection, relationship building, role-play and sexual conversation.
• It never claims to be the real person. Asked, it always says it is an AI portrayal, and the label cannot be turned off.
• If an emergency appears, no master speaks, and the room points to where help can be found.
• Only members aged 19 or over may use it. If it is confirmed that a member has said they are a minor, the conversation closes.
• When a third blocked request is made in one conversation, that conversation pauses for 10 minutes.

6. Requests from descendants and rights holders

In short: Descendants and rights holders of a person portrayed can ask for the portrayal to stop, or for a photo, a record or a translation to be removed or corrected. There is no charge.

Who can ask. A descendant or family association of the person portrayed, a foundation or institution that looks after the person's legacy, a rights holder (for example the rights holder of a translation), or a religious or community body connected with the person.

What you can ask for.

• Remove the person from the conversation (stop the portrayal)
• Remove the person's photo
• Correct or remove a record
• Remove a translation

How to ask. Use the button below to open the request form of AI support and send it as a "Takedown request". "Request from a descendant or rights holder" in the conversation opens the same form. You can also write through Contact or by email (support@pantheontable.com). Please include these four things.

• The person's name
• Your relationship to the person, and a way to verify it
• What you want done
• How we can reach you

What we do.

• We handle the request within 24 hours (6.3 of the Terms of Service). When a request is plausible, the person's seat is put to rest at once, before the check is finished.
• We decide after checking, and tell you the result in writing within 7 days.
• There is no charge, and you do not have to argue your case.
• When a portrayal stops, the person leaves the list of masters that can be seated. Conversations members held before then stay in those members' records.
• Takedown requests about a living person's words, photo or work are received the same way (6.3 of the Terms of Service).
• Questions from regulators, payment companies and the press are received at the same place.

7. If these principles change

In short: We say so on this page first.

When these principles change, we change the version and effective date of this page, and we announce a change that is worse for you, or important, in advance as section 11 of the Terms of Service provides.