“How is it possible to think of the future when the war is still ongoing, hostages still remain in Gaza, and some people will never return?” Emily Hand, who was released from Hamas captivity in the November 2023 hostage-ceasefire deal, asked at the Teacher’s Union convention in Tel Aviv on Monday.
Ten-year-old Hand, who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Be’eri during the October 7 massacre, spoke at the conference to an Artificial Intelligence chatbot, asking for help to imagine the future.Â
In the conversation, Hand explained how she did not wish to speak of the past, missing her kibbutz, her friends, and those she lost.Â
Asking the AI tool to draw her pictures of the future, Hand subsequently commented on the drawings, saying they they did not look realistic.Â
‘How can we even think about tomorrow?’
“I haven’t returned to my home yet… not everyone has come home safely… and some never will… and my dreams… they’re not always good… so how can we even think about tomorrow today?” she asked.
The AI chat responded by telling her to look around at those surrounding her, who could be of help to her in the path ahead.Â
Remaining in captivity for 50 days, Hand was initially believed to have been killed by Hamas terrorists.
In a CNN interview a few days following the massacre, her father recounted his sense of relief at that thought. He later learned she had been kidnapped.Â
The Irish-Israeli was abducted from a sleepover at her friend’s house in Be’eri, along with her friend’s mother, Raya Rotem.
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