Ask most people what inanimate objects they would grab if their home was on fire and the top response usually involves photographs, diaries and other records of one’s life. The digital era was supposed to end this vulnerability because it became possible to make and keep identical copies at little or no extra cost.
But digital records may not be for ever, warns Google vice president and internet pioneer Vint Cerf. He has told the American Association for the Advancement of Science that we could be heading towards a digital dark age.
Why? The problem is the formats. Digital videos, for instance, are recorded in many formats. Tomorrow, they could be superseded. Eventually, current media could be as obsolete as an eight-inch floppy disk. Dr Cerf suggests that the “digital image” is the solution. This would mean copying the whole system, including files and their software, to avert the potential cyber-fire. Stay tuned.
