Dublin, 29 July 2020: As our government records and reports transition to digital only archives, we would think this would enable remote access much more easily. Unfortunately, this is not the case and many archives remain closed due to privacy or copyright issues. Some that are accessible, still require researchers to physically travel to a repository to access them. ADAPT Researcher Dr Annalina Caputo has been awarded funding from the AHRC and IRC to develop AURA (Archives in the UK/Republic of Ireland and AI).
AURA will bring together digital humanists, computer scientists, and stakeholders to unlock the archives that were previously not available or difficult to access through AI access. The sheer quantity of digital data also makes it prohibitive for human manual review, so AI technology is essential to identify certain data, especially sensitive and confidential materials.
Archives also have a greater societal role to play in legitimising governments through transparency and openness. As humans, we are entitled to access to our digital heritage, wherever we may be in the world.
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