We are the narrative of our own memory and the memory of others about us. This is how our identity is formed in a chronological context.
But today we know that memory is neither true, nor objective, nor complete. We lay traces, collect documents and photographs, and archive them. I see in this an existential doubt: who am I really if I cannot trust memory? If I leave no traces, did I ever exist?
In the digital age, cloud archives with huge storage volumes are our memory. Artificial intelligence collects vast amounts of data and traces that we leave behind in the infinite expanse of the internet. It finds everything and forgets nothing. It seems to know us better than we know ourselves. Can it tell us who we are? Can we trust it?
Erika Kassnel-Henneberg
