~Art
Preservation Through Fire: Unveiling Ecosystems' Role in Digital Archiving
As wildfires reshape landscapes like Florida's Big Cypress National Preserve, CIFRA's digital art archives offer a lens on how destruction fosters new modes of creation.
+Digital Memory
Archives, history of the internet, preservation, metadata, lost media, memory
~Technology
When Smart Glasses Aren't as Smart as We Hoped
Meta's foray into smart glasses is a case study in expectations.
~AI
Frisbees and Futures: Lessons from Off-Grid Villages
The best technology stories aren't about technology at all, they're about kids on swings. In September 2024, a playground opened at Kao La Amani Children's Village in Boma Ng'ombe, Tanzania, and while Silicon Valley was busy teaching chatbots to generate increasingly unhinged
~Art
Unlocking Pompeii: How Ancient Graffiti Teaches Us About Digital Imprints
The walls of Pompeii hold over 11,000 messages that nobody meant to preserve forever. These weren't monuments or official inscriptions—just everyday Romans scribbling their thoughts, jokes, and frustrations on whatever surface was handy. Sexual boasts, political complaints, simple declarations of daily activities—all mixed together in