'Doomsday vault' contains all of humanity's data

In addition to the Global Seed Vault, Norway has just built a new vault, dedicated to storing data of all humanity in case of an apocalypse on Earth.

The new vault, officially called the “World Arctic Archive,” is located nearly 1,000 kilometers from the North Pole in Svalbard, Norway. It was built at Mine 3, an abandoned coal mine near the Global Seed Vault.

The Arctic World Archive was officially opened this week. Countries around the world are encouraged to send in data of special importance to their cultures to be stored there, to protect them from loss, destruction or damage due to natural or man-made factors. So far, data has been sent in from Mexico and Brazil.

A Norwegian company called Piql is taking on the task of converting and storing digital data onto multilayer, light-sensitive analog films. The process is similar to turning data into “large QR codes on film.” Piql claims that each of these special films is expected to last between 500 and 1,000 years.

According to Piql’s documents, a country can upload tests, images, or audio-visual content to the company’s servers. The data is then transferred to a special membrane designed to withstand any major abrasion.

They are then placed in a secure box and placed in a heavily guarded vault. As long as the internet and servers are operational, the data can be searched online. At the request of the user, they can be transferred digitally or transported in a physical format of their choice.

Analog storage is generally considered more futuristic than digital. It doesn't require codecs, updating efforts, or operating systems to decode information in the event of a catastrophic planetary disaster. Even in the short term, it could be useful for a government to store its precious data.

According to VNN