Digital Archaeology
Can Digital History Be Rewritten?
This question reexamines the possibility of constructing and altering history in the digital age. Web archives and digital records can greatly change the interpretation of history depending on who saves what and how it is presented. Deleted data, edited logs, biased archives — is digital history more rewritable than physical history, or is it protected by technological and structural constraints? It explores the essence of digital memory wavering between the 'truthfulness' and 'plasticity' of history.
The view that digital data is inherently editable, deletable, and reconfigurable, and that history is always rewritten from the current perspective. The evolution of preservation technology enables diverse interpretations of history.
The view that due to technologies such as distributed archives and blockchain, tampering with digital history is extremely difficult, and 'truth' is preserved more than in physical history.
The view that the possibility of rewriting history is not a matter of technology, but a matter of power: who manages the archive and controls access. Emphasizes the politics of preservation.
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When looking back at your past SNS posts or blog, have you ever felt 'I didn't want to write it that way at that time'?
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If all past web pages could be deleted, which pages would you want to delete? Why?
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Which do you think is closer to 'real history': history textbooks or web archives?
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If someone tried to edit or delete your past digital records, what emotions would arise?
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Is digital history easier or harder to rewrite compared to physical history (paper documents or ruins)?
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How do you think people in the future will interpret the digital history of our era? Do you think you can control that interpretation?
This theme is a space to consider through each other's experiences how history is made, told, and sometimes rewritten in the digital age. It is a dialogue that respects the possibility of various interpretations rather than denying someone's past.
- Digital History
- Historical records and their interpretations formed through the internet and digital media. Includes web pages, SNS logs, databases, etc.
- Rewriting History
- Changing, selecting, or emphasizing records or interpretations of past events to fit current purposes or values. In the digital age, there are aspects that have become technically easier.
- Archive Bias
- The phenomenon where preserved data is biased by the preserver's intentions, technical constraints, or power structures. Determines whose voice remains and whose disappears.
Is there anything in your past digital records (SNS, blog, email, etc.) that you thought 'I don't want to keep this'? Why did you think so?
If you could time travel and meet your past self, which era's digital records would you like to look back on together? And how would you interpret those records?
When the other person talks about their digital history, gently ask 'which records is that interpretation based on?' Let's discover together that there are multiple perspectives.
- Who should be the administrator of digital archives?
- Does deleted data disappear from history?
- Risks of AI-generated automatic history and rewriting
- Differences between open-source archives and commercial archives