Memory

The technology of collective memory and the normativity of truth

Diane P Michelfelder, Natasha McCarthy & David E. Goldberg (eds.), Philosophy and Engineering: Reflections on Practice, Principles and Process, 279-290

2013

Themes: Memory

Category: Book chapter, Peer reviewed

Neither our evolutionary past, nor our pre-literate culture, has prepared humanity for the use of technology to provide records of the past, records which in many contexts become normative for memory. The demand that memory be true, rather than useful or pleasurable, has changed our social and psychological self-understanding. The current vogue for lifelogging, and the rapid proliferation of digital memory-supporting technologies, may accelerate this change, and create dilemmas for policymakers, designers and social thinkers.

Narcissus to a man: lifelogging, technology and the normativity of truth

Talk given at the Second Annual Microsoft SenseCam Symposium, Dublin

2010

Themes: Memory

Category: Talk

The growth of the practice of lifelogging, exploiting the capabilities provided by the exponential increase in computer storage, and using technologies such as SenseCam as well as location-based services, Web 2.0, social networking and photo-sharing sites, has led to a growing sense of unease, articulated in books such as Mayer-Schönberger’s Delete, that the semi-permanent storage of memories could lead to problematic social consequences. This talk examines the arguments against lifelogging and storage, and argues that they seem less worrying when placed in the context of a wider debate about the nature of mind and memory and their relationship to our environment and the technology we use.

Lifelogging: privacy and empowerment with memories for life

Identity in the Information Society, 1(2), 155-172

2009

Co-authors: Mischa M. Tuffield, Nigel Shadbolt

Themes: Memory

Category: Journal article, Open access, Peer reviewed

The growth of information acquisition, storage and retrieval capacity has led to the development of the practice of lifelogging, the undiscriminating collection of information concerning one’s life and behaviour. There are potential problems in this practice, but equally it could be empowering for the individual, and provide a new locus for the construction of an online identity. In this paper we look at the technological possibilities and constraints for lifelogging tools, and set out some of the most important privacy, identity and empowerment-related issues. We argue that some of the privacy concerns are overblown, and that much research and commentary on lifelogging has made the unrealistic assumption that the information gathered is for private use, whereas, in a more socially-networked online world, much of it will have public functions and will be voluntarily released into the public domain.

Memories for life: a review of the science and technology

Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 3(8), 351-365

2006

Co-authors: Richard Morris, Nigel Shadbolt, Graham J. Hitch, Wendy Hall, Neil Beagrie

Themes: Memory

Category: Journal article, Open access, Peer reviewed

This paper discusses scientific, social and technological aspects of memory. Recent developments in our understanding of memory processes and mechanisms, and their digital implementation, have placed the encoding, storage, management and retrieval of information at the forefront of several fields of research. At the same time, the divisions between the biological, physical and the digital worlds seem to be dissolving. Hence, opportunities for interdisciplinary research into memory are being created, between the life sciences, social sciences and physical sciences. Such research may benefit from immediate application into information management technology as a testbed. The paper describes one initiative, memories for life, as a potential common problem space for the various interested disciplines.