The Very Slow Time Machine by Jez Higgins (@jezhiggins)

ARCHANGEL is a joint project involving University of Surrey, The National Archive, and The Open Data Institute, investigating how we might help ensure the long-term integrity of digital documents stored in public archives.

When an archive produces a physical artefact, its relatively easy to establish that it is indeed the original document, preserved unaltered since it was first deposited.

But a digital artefact?

A digital document can be infinitely copied without degradation, but can also be undetectably altered, inadvertently or deliberately, both with benign or malign intent.

How can we be confident that what we've presented with is, in fact, identical to the document that was first stored in archive?

ARCHANGEL is trying to address this problem, and in this talk I'll describe some of the approaches and technologies we're using.

Spoilers: Yes, it includes blockchains, but it's about the only blockchain application you'll hear of that doesn't immediately make you feel dirty. It might also include machine learning, but it's machine learning for justice.

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Thank you to EdShed (https://www.edshed.com/) for sponsoring this meet

Doors open at 6pm for refreshments and networking, before the formal start just after 7pm. Don't worry if you're unable to arrive before 7pm, we'd rather you arrive late, than not at all.

Following the talk there is a general discussion about the topic at hand, and more time for networking.

We have a Slack channel which acts as a virtual water cooler, allowing you to chat the other members of the group. If you've not already joined, you can do so using the link below:

https://www.worcester.space/

If you have any questions or ideas, hit me up on the slack channel.