Technological Information Abundance

Digital technologies have ushered in an unprecedented expansion in the production, storage and accessibility of information. Data is generated, circulated and processed on a scale that far exceeds the limits of human perception and cognitive processing.

Within this rapidly evolving environment, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a defining force: it enables vast quantities of data to be organised, patterns to be recognised, content to be generated and complex tasks to be supported with exceptional speed.

The Information Agein Numbers

Global Data Generation in 2025

Digital technologies have elevated the generation, storage, and availability of information to an entirely new scale.

1 Zettabyte (ZB) = 1,000,000,000,000 Gigabytes (GB) 1 ZB = 10¹² GB

Data Volume (illustrated physically)

4 TB hard disk drive (HDD)
1,000,000,000,000 GB ÷ 4,000 GB
= 250,000,000 hard drives

Space Requirements (illustrated physically)

Height: 2.50 cm × 250 million = 6,250 km
Length: 10.00 cm × 250 million = 25,000 km If the hard drives were stacked or placed end to end.

Power Consumption of the Storage Media

250 million × 5 watts = 1.25 gigawatts In one hour, 120 million hard drives consume 1.25 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity. This is roughly equivalent to the output of around one nuclear power station, simply to operate the hard drives.

Cost of the Storage Media (hard drives)

A 4-TB hard drive costs approx. € 80.00 (2026)
250 million × € 80.00 = € 20,000,000,000
Total cost: € 20 billion

How many years would be required to upload 1 ZB over a standard internet connection?

At an upload speed of 100 Mbps

1 ZB ≈ 2.5 million years

181 ZB × 2.5 million years ≈

452.5 million years

Estimated global data volume in 2025

Sources: IDC Data Age 2025 | Statista | various industry reports

These figures are intended for illustrative purposes and are based on current estimates and average values as of 2025/2026. Actual values may vary depending on the source and the assumptions applied.

Sources: IDC Data Age 2025 | Statista | various industry reports

These figures are intended for illustrative purposes and are based on current estimates and average values as of 2025/2026. Actual values may vary depending on the source and the assumptions applied.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) as Cognitive Assistance

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is neither a passing buzzword nor an independent form of human thought. Rather, it encompasses technologies that can perform or support tasks traditionally associated with human intelligence — including language processing, pattern recognition, analysis, prediction and the generation of texts or images.

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly embedded in education, work and everyday life, a clear and sober assessment is essential. The crucial question is not merely what Artificial Intelligence (AI) can do, but how it is used: whether it supports human thought processes or replaces independent cognitive effort. This distinction is fundamental to learning, memory formation and judgement.

UNESCO and the OECD therefore emphasise the need for a human-centred, pedagogically responsible and competence-oriented approach to generative Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Opportunities of Technological Support

When used appropriately, Artificial Intelligence (AI) can ease human workload, accelerate search and writing processes, reduce the burden of routine tasks and broaden access to information.

In a study examining the use of ChatGPT for professional writing tasks, completion times fell by 40%, while the assessed quality of the results improved by 18%. A separate investigation of a generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) assistance system in customer service found an average productivity increase of 14%.

Taken together, these results suggest that Artificial Intelligence (AI) can enhance performance, facilitate access and make work processes more efficient. Its value, however, lies not in replacing human thought, but in relieving it where this creates space for deeper intellectual engagement.

Risks of Cognitive Outsourcing

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not inherently detrimental to cognition. The risk lies in forms of use that displace active intellectual engagement and gradually substitute independent mental effort. When learners no longer organise, formulate, recall or evaluate content for themselves, the resulting output may still appear persuasive, even though it is not accompanied by a corresponding gain in learning.

The OECD warns of precisely this effect: generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) can improve the short-term quality of results without necessarily fostering genuine growth in competence or understanding.

A study conducted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), entitled "Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt when Using an AI Assistant for Essay Writing Task", points in the same direction. In this experimental setting, participants who relied on a large language model while writing essays showed lower neural connectivity and weaker recall of their own texts than the comparison groups. The authors interpret these findings as a possible indication of reduced cognitive engagement where Artificial Intelligence (AI) is used as a substitute for independent thought.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) may therefore support learning, but it may also abbreviate cognitive processes without deepening them. The decisive distinction is whether it complements independent mental effort or replaces it.

Memory, Attention & Judgement in the Technological Age

The growing power of technological systems heightens the importance of the human capacities needed to engage with them consciously. These include the ability to classify information, retain meaningful connections, recognise contradictions, think with linguistic precision and make independent decisions.

Memory, attention, linguistic ability and judgement therefore gain significance not despite technological development, but precisely because of it.

This is where Ultima Memoria (UM) finds its particular relevance. A high-performing memory is far more than a mechanism of storage. It is a prerequisite for keeping knowledge accessible and ready for use, for linking it meaningfully and for applying it in situations where technological systems may assist, but responsibility for judgement and decision-making remains with the human being.

Ultima Memoria (UM) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in a Complementary Partnership

Ultima Memoria (UM) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are best understood not as opposing forces, but as complementary elements of a future-oriented culture of learning and knowledge. Artificial Intelligence (AI) can open up information, organise it, adapt it and make it readily accessible. Ultima Memoria (UM), in turn, strengthens the human capability to retain information, retrieve it with precision, place it in context and apply it consciously.

Ultima Memoria (UM) Strengthens the Human Capability to Engage with Artificial Intelligence (AI)

A sovereign and discerning use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) depends on capabilities that remain distinctly human: memory performance, attention, linguistic precision, independent thought and the ability to engage with information critically rather than merely consume it.

Ultima Memoria (UM) is directed precisely at strengthening these capabilities. It equips individuals not only to use Artificial Intelligence (AI), but also to evaluate its outputs independently, place them in context and engage with them on their own intellectual terms.

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) broadens access to information and supports complex forms of information processing.
• Ultima Memoria (UM) strengthens the human capability to acquire knowledge, keep it accessible, recall it with precision and apply it with discernment.

The decisive question for the future is not whether human beings can compete with Artificial Intelligence (AI), but whether technological capability can be meaningfully aligned with human memory and judgement. Only then can both unfold their distinct strengths.

Ultima Memoria (UM) provides the means to cultivate human memory and cognitive performance in a way that enables people to engage with Artificial Intelligence (AI) on equal terms.