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AI Is Creating A Surreal Future For These Historic Sites & Buildings

AI creates an imagined future for some of the world's most historic buildings.

Aimee Heidelberg February 10, 2024 29 min

Futuristic highway next to historic rock carved building. — Al-Dier in the future. AI generated, 2024.

AI shows us ideas, but historic preservation brings us reality

Man at podium in front of a wall of flags from different countries. — UNESCO’s international November 2023 conference to protect cultural resources. Vlad on RSM (2023). Public domain.

The historic preservation movement across the world has taken different forms. For these buildings, recognized for their worldwide cultural importance, UNESCO has provided some protections around the globe, providing legal and financial assistance for preservation and conservation. Individual countries have also developed local preservation policy and laws to protect sites with national importance. Many nations even have a list that specifically names and investigates properties of national importance to highlight them for preservation initiatives. These lists include the United States with the National Register of Historic Places, Japan’s Protection of Cultural Properties, and the List of Historic Heritage of Brazil. There are similar registers found all over the world. Could these AI images give us a glimpse into the future? Not likely, as long as historic properties and preservation policies remain a cultural value.