this post was submitted on 24 Oct 2023
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Futurology

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[–] BananaTrifleViolin@kbin.social 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

This is actually a hugely important project if successful. Storing data long term is a huge hidden problem globally. Magnetic storage and optical discs have limited lifespans, and paper remains the most reliable long term medium IF stored in perfect conditions.

We are losing our heritage slowly all the time as books degrade or are lost, or library's struggle. Even data on the internet and digital media is fleeting without a long term solution to archive stuff robustly. Genetic data in seed stores for example would last much longer if we could store it in coded form and "rebuild" the gene later for use.

I hope this project or something similar succeeds as we need to be thinking about how we preserve knowledge and data for not just the next 10 to 20 years but the next 10000 years.

Going futher into sci fi territory, if our species is going to go to other solar systems then it will probably be generation ships unless we make some major discoveries. A civilization that spreads slowly across the stars will need reliable ways to transfer data over 100s and 1000s of years to benefit new worlds. That is all data - our science, arts, music but also genetic data of earth's bio diversity.