Concept · Revised

Synthetic memory

A machine-maintained representation of past context assembled from stored records, generated summaries, inferences, and retrieval rules.

Why it matters

A working definition, open to revision.

Synthetic memory does not merely preserve the past. It decides what becomes active in the present, often without appearing as a separate archive or editorial act.

Dissenting question

Does a generated recollection remain memory when no person experienced the account it presents?

Related concepts

Adaptive memory→Canonical recall→Continuity pressure→

Key publications

Research Report

DRI-RP-2024-04

When Anchor Remembers for You

How a useful memory service becomes the infrastructure through which people and institutions encounter the past.

By Lina Ortega

·3 min read

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