To save the future of the Alexandria Library, blockchain technology could help preserve records and filing systems.
The study of history and the ancient peoples is immensely important in preserving the knowledge passed down from generation to generation. Unfortunately, the importance of knowledge is particularly acute when it is lost. With tragedies like the fire in the Alexandria library or the pillage of the House of Wisdom in ancient Baghdad or the recent loss of artifacts in the Museum of Iraq, perspectives were lost, advances in philosophy and literature were forgotten, and languages and translations disappeared from the earth.
In our attempt to preserve our history, how can we protect the artifacts of our heritage from disaster? Using blockchain technology to track data stored in a decentralized cloud service could be exactly what the archival and historical industries need to protect our collective. the human story of destruction, looting and incorrect bookkeeping.
Blockchain as a data keeper
The archival industry is underfunded in many sub-areas and does not have the resources to properly maintain the data stored, and as stated in this 2014 statement calling for more funds for US archives, it is clear that on many fronts there is a lack of funds, which can result in the loss of physical and digital records.
An alternative solution is to store data directly on the blockchain. As David Vorick, CEO of Skynet and co-founder of Sia, told Cointelegraph, “One of the main advantages of using a blockchain is that it can be built on a market. open to what guarantees fair prices.” This prevents third parties from contributing to the funding, while also ensuring that community members who are passionate about protecting their heritage can fund a storage system directly.
Vorick continued, “By relying on external infrastructure, you have given your infrastructure provider the opportunity to completely disrupt your business, something they will be happy to use to their advantage.”
Often there are concerns about the legitimacy, security and confidentiality of stored information. Many documents and records are kept for the people in the community, so they need to be safe and secure for the good of your property. Holders protect information not by storing it in centralized databases, as some of the leading organizations do, which makes them more vulnerable to data breaches, but by splitting files and sending them to different servers or nodes, eliminating the possibility of data breaches control is decreased “.
Another important aspect of file storage on the blockchain is the immutability of the document itself. “But online archives are also prone to deletion of documents in ways that cannot be detected,” noted the Research Council on Social Sciences. In 2001, the authors acquired the rights to an online archive of their own works, but other parties could enter and delete the authors’ works without revealing the information or with no indication of why an article was removed. Articles and publications have been lost because some items were deemed unsaved.
Blockchain archives could store data in nodes around the world to ensure that it is an integral part of the blockchain and therefore in history. This conveniently leads to the next part of the benefits of blockchain technology: lending where credit is due by creating immutable proof of ownership. By using a blockchain, there will be no question of who it belongs to for documents and records.
Blockchain enthusiasts often declare that “immutability provides integrity” and protects who owns the document and who has and had access to it. For example, non-fungible tokens or NFTs are causing the art industry to rethink property rights, “and enable artists to protect their creations from forgery and digital reproduction”. By using the same idea in archiving and data collection, there will always be a way to ensure that the records are not tampered with and that the original owner and format are proven.
How to help
In hindsight, we can look back at history to see what went wrong and what could have helped. While this could serve to prevent other similar problems from occurring, or simply out of curiosity, this practice could save our dying languages and keep people’s memories alive for generations to come.
Imagine if all the records that were lost in the great fire of the Alexandria library or the destruction of its temple, the Serapeum, 500 years later were kept on a blockchain. What information would we study and learn that could have changed modern society forever?
In the sack of the old Baghdad House of Wisdom, which contained some of the best translations in the world, philosophical and religious texts were destroyed and thrown into the Tigris, making it “black” for half a year due to ink flowing from thousands of books to drowned Their metaphorical death “. The loss of these precious records has done immeasurable damage to our understanding of humanity, which historically has often been viewed as a way to weaken heritage and rewrite narratives. Therefore, according to Lost Memories Libraries and Archives, Destroyed in the Twentieth Century “of the United Nations Education, Science and Culture” steps are being taken to preserve our written heritage.
Using immutable blockchain technology to secure records could have been immensely useful during the 2018 fire that swept through the National Museum of Brazil and destroyed priceless records of our history and works of art. São Paulo, pointed out that “the anthropological collections were the worst loss,” that they were indigenous language records that have now disappeared forever.
While blockchain technology cannot protect physical objects from accidental or deliberate damage, it can protect the data of those objects and researchers that are recorded, as well as the records of people who speak now-forgotten languages.
The American anthropologist Clifford Geertz stated in his essay “Religion as a Cultural System” that culture “is a historically transmitted pattern of meanings embodied in symbols, a system of inherited ideas expressed in symbolic forms with which People communicate, perpetuate and develop knowledge and Attitude to Life ”and therefore the protection of voice recordings is necessary to protect people’s cultures.
Taking ownership of a blockchain would defuse the ongoing debate about who owns what, regardless of who found it and who has it now. This is especially true when you think of Iraq and Egypt’s recent success in claiming 11,500 artifacts after a battle for proof of ownership and “coordinate the return of around 5,000 old papyrus fragments and 6,500 old clay objects, since the artifacts lack a reliable history of origin or ownership.” By using a blockchain, countries and communities no longer need to claim ownership of documents or records, as all relevant information is recorded and protected from tampering.
Now that we are armed with blockchain technology, we can position ourselves to protect our knowledge and history and pass it on to future generations without fear of losing records, materials and data forever. If we know how vital blockchain technology is at keeping and retrieving information, Imagine how many Alexandria libraries could be saved in the future.
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