[agency]

It's also an interesting reflection on the historical moment we've find ourselves in. I'm sure the records of normal/daily life have been steadily increasing even before the computer age as earlier technologies made it cheaper to record these things but it feels like in my lifetime we have transitioned almost instantaneously to having more data than we could possibly ever sift through about every aspect of peoples' lives. What will history look like to future generations who have access to such a historical record?

[lyjackal]

I think you may also be overestimating the quantity of current data that will actually survive. Computer records are pretty ephemeral unless actively maintained and archived.

[patentatt]

We could be living in a modern dark ages. Just imagine the treasure trove that will be lost when YouTube or the internet archive blinks offline for the last time. That's part of why I think patents are valuable. There will be multiple copies of a discrete set of systematized records of 'invention' or at the least just writings of people from this age. I estimate a good chance that the US patent database outlives the internet, for example.