Virtual Pastelity

“If we can design the future, should we also design the past?”  

A few weeks ago, I was invited to visit the #yours2040 gathering in La Punt, a gorgeous village in the Engadin region of Switzerland. One of the highlights was a walk to the Morteratsch Glacier. Like most glaciers, it is destined to disappear, and quickly. Over the last twenty years, it has retreated at an accelerating rate from approximately 17 metres per year to over 100 metres per year in just the last decade. Obviously, this is far bigger than me, global forces like these will continue with a time lag, even if we manage to cut carbon emissions*.

Yet it was fascinating to observe how the development of the ecosystem changes as you walk towards the glacier. Starting at the point where the glacier stood in 1878, the trees are already around 150 years old. With every step closer to the ice, the ecosystem grows younger, until, at the very edge, it has only just begun to emerge from beneath the retreating ice.

During the walk, I spoke with a colleague who marvelled at the haptic possibilities of virtual reality. It’s true that in the future, we’ll be able to inhabit entirely new realities. This could be an extraordinary way to experience the future and take advantage of the opportunities it offers, whether utopian or dystopian.

But has anyone considered the inevitable ability to experience the past? 

I call this concept Virtual Pastelity, using technology to (re)live the past. 

On the one hand, this could be a powerful tool for archaeologists, teachers, and historians to help them understand and explain human existence. But what about the truth? Who writes history, who feeds AI with new content and who might have an interest in manipulating our shared memory? The prospect of politicians or ideologues crafting and controlling these immersive experiences is chilling. 

On the other hand, people may find healing by confronting and overcoming past traumas. However, others may flee reality entirely, endlessly replaying their favourite moments, like a child addicted to the predictability of a beloved film scene. 

As designers, technologists, artists and innovators, we already shape the future, but what happens when we also begin shaping the past? 

 -- Let’s embrace the now more than ever --

Further reading: 

📖 Morteratsch Glacier – Wikipedia 

📖 Are Some Of The Earth’s Glaciers Actually Becoming Larger? – WorldAtlas