CIRI Blog: Digital Records and Curation
Exploring the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Data Privacy from a Risk Management Perspective: A Recent Study
Published: Apr 12th, 2025 by Dr. Norman Mooradian
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming how organizations handle data, but its dependence on vast datasets raises pressing privacy concerns. AI systems, particularly those using machine learning and deep learning, not only process personal information but also generate new insights about individuals, sometimes from seemingly unrelated data. This ability to infer sensitive details—such as political beliefs or health risks—makes managing privacy more complex than ever. A recent study I coauthored with Patricia C. Franks, and Amitabh Srivastav explores these risks from an information
Computational Preservation vs. Social Preservation: What do Algorithms Require?
Published: April 13, 2023 by Dr. James A. Hodges
The digital technologies that we use every day are controlled by increasingly complex algorithmic systems. These run the gamut from the very banal (say, Netflix recommendations), to the very consequential (say, sentencing recommendations in the criminal justice system). As these systems become more widespread and impactful, there are more and more reasons that we may want to preserve them and refer to them later. Perhaps you’re a software developer and you want to look back at how your
Digital Ethics and Digital Epistemology
Published: February 14, 2023 by Dr. Norman Mooradian
My current research has two central tracks, digital ethics, and digital epistemology. The label digital ethics includes traditional information ethics[1], but also encompasses ethical issues arising from emerging technologies, for example, the ethics of artificial intelligence and virtual reality. Digital epistemology includes areas such as knowledge management and representation, as well as the application of theories of knowledge to computing and information science generally.
#NorthVanStories – Living History: A Collaborative Rapid-response Collecting Project
Published: January 10, 2023 by Dr. Jessica Bushey
At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spring 2020, many archives, libraries, and museums launched rapid-response collecting projects to preserve material culture and documentary by-products of individuals and communities living through this difficult time.[1] The projects varied in scope – from collecting physical records to engaging their communities in creating born-digital media – depending upon the institution’s existing technology infrastructure and staff
Award-winning Student Presentations at 2022 CPGE Online Student Conference
Published: March 22, 2022 by Dr. Lili Luo
The College of Professional and Global Education (CPGE) held its first Online Student Conference in February. The conference seeks to connect students across the college and promote student work. It aims to provide an opportunity for CPGE students to share their school or professional work, help students communicate and connect with each other, and ultimately foster a stronger sense of community among students.
Interview with iSchool Professor Dr. Pat Franks
Published: May 17, 2021 by Dr. Pat Franks
[iSchool Professor Dr. Pat Franks will be retiring after spring 2021. CIRI had the great pleasure to have interviewed Dr. Franks about her research experience and reflections during all these years working at iSchool.]
Please tell us a bit about your role at iSchool.
I was brought on board in 2008–even before becoming a full-time faculty member–to coordinate the Master of Archives and Records Administration (MARA) program. In 2009, I joined the faculty full-time and continued in the role of MARA program coordinator to this day. I have also taught a number of courses in both the MLIS and MARA programs, and I devoted a few years to coordinating the Internship program, where I promoted the concept of virtual internships for all iSchool students.
Using Blockchain Technology for Private and Secure Health Data Management and Sharing: How Do Users Respond?
Published: February 17, 2021 by Dr. Darra Hofman
“Omics” sciences, including genomics, proteomics, exposomics, phenomics, microbiomics, and metabolomics[1], could provide revolutionary insight into human health, unlocking the knowledge hidden in the molecules of our bodies. Indeed, it has been argued that “the new era of omics studies…may lead to a true clinical application of personalized medicine”[2], with each of us receiving recommendations and treatments tailor-made for our unique biology. This research, however, is not without risks. Privacy, in particular, looms large for participants in omics research.
Blockchain for Identity Management: Can a Case be made to Begin at Birth?
Published: May 2, 2019 by Dr. Pat Franks
Some of you may be familiar with blockchain technology (learn more about the basics of Blockchain from this CNN post and Dr. Franks’ presentation) because of Bitcoin, but it’s important to understand that Bitcoin was the first generation of blockchain technology with only one use case: financial
Cultural Memory and National Archives on the African Continent
Published: January 4, 2019 by Dr. Pat Franks
Introduction
Between September 2016 and November 2017, 46 students and alumni of the iSchool participated in a research project that resulted in the publication of the first ever International Directory of National Archives.
Web Archiving at the School of Information (Part II)
Published: March 14, 2016 by Alyce Scott
“The Web was not designed to be preserved. The average life of a Web page is about 100 days”
–Brewster Kahle
The Internet Archive began saving web pages in 1996, in an effort to “preserve cultural artifacts created on the web and make sure they would remain available for the researchers, historians, and scholars of the future.” In 2001 they launched the Wayback Machine, and in 2006 Archive-it. Archive-it is “The leading web archiving service for collecting and accessing cultural heritage on the web.”
Emerging Research Trends in Big Data: Big Data and Digital Humanities
Published: November 9, 2015 by Dr. Michelle Chen
In my information visualization and big data courses, some of my students express strong interest in applying big data analytical skills to address or solve humanities-related issues. Motivated by this noticeable trend, I am proposing a workshop for “Big Data and Digital Humanities” to be held in conjunction with the 2016 IEEE International Conference on Multimedia Big Data. While the workshop proposal is currently under review, I think it would be nice to share some of the thoughts and research ideas here.