[denom]

The reason that we need a right to be forgotten is encoded in this 'UI-forced' remembering. Forgetting the awkward moments is one thing, but it is natural to be born, grow, and change. In those earlier centuries, it was only the remembrances encoded in our cultural practices and personal intent that governed what remained. Even the organic, compostable material of everyday life (like wood and leather) would decay to nothing. Liberation by time and forgetting can be a lonely thing, especially considering the ultimate ends of all our endeavors. By comparison, the memoria we maintain today is akin to plastic floating in the ocean, we don't need it, it will outlive us, and periodically it collides perfectly to bear the fruit of a poignant nostalgia.

In the previous ages, we buried our ancestors and in turn were buried.

[ljm]

I think this is especially true as more apps depend on machine learning (or 'AI') to provide a useful experience. Opening a weather app and seeing an old home (and triggering the memory) is one thing but there is absolutely nothing malicious about an app that saves a preference so you don't have to search for it every time.

More insidious is with those more clever services because they seem to become weighted to your earlier choices and your present self has little influence over what the machine has decided to learn. So you have Spotify where the first few hundred songs and artists you listen to have pretty much defined your taste in music and due to the amount of data collected to identify who you are across the internet, you're unlikely to get a fresh start by creating a new account.

The fundamental problem with this kind of memory in tech is that it doesn't appreciate that people change. It won't forget, it won't let go and move on, it won't adapt the same way a person will, it'll probably discount much of that change for being anomalous after some time. Or at least, that's what my fear is.