Dutkowska-Zuk, Agnieszka and Spiers, Emily and Coulton, Paul (2025) Designing for human memory in a future scenario of infinite data storage: A speculative approach. PhD thesis, Lancaster University.
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Abstract
In discussions about technology, the tendency is to portray computer memory using metaphors that characterise it as a superior extension of our human memory. Its contents do not change in time, information is catalogued transparently, and therefore the search for a specific output is effortless and quick. With the emergence of nanotechnology, computer memory may seemingly become even better: infinite, in fact. However, this view of digital and human memory is limited. It assumes that the primary goal of human memory is to store the most immense amount of information possible. It rejects other qualities of memory, such as forgetting, imagination and social practice, in favour of the notion that human and digital memory function merely as a storage vessel. In the face of the new relationship between human memory and infinite digital memory, it is necessary to reconsider the metaphors and characteristics of human and digital memory, to understand and design favourable interactions between digital and human memory. The premise of infinite data storage leads us to a future where we can store everything. While extensive literature exists on how external memory can support our "organic" memory, researchers have hitherto not been investigating how interaction with our data could change in the context of infinity. This thesis explores these possible changes. Using Research through Design, I conceptualise four different futures - or Design Fictions - of infinite data storage, based on the Manoa School Method introduced by Jim Dator. Dator named these futures Continued Economic Growth, Societal Transformation, Collapse, and Disciplined Society. I present a series of speculative artefacts I have designed which exist within these futures. Each future focuses on different societal values and contexts, which enables me to further unpack the possible consequences of digital devices with infinite data storage. I summarise these outcomes using the Annotated Portfolio Method, creating connections between artefacts and theories. Since Research through Design does not seek to answer specific questions but rather to explore a particular challenge space, I conclude by identifying guiding framing questions for future external memory designers in order to provide an approach for constructing the memory design space they would like to highlight and serve in their designs.