Microsoft's Project Silica: Laser-Etched Glass Stores Data for 10,000+ Years

• Microsoft's Project Silica uses laser-etched glass to store data for over 10,000 years, addressing the short lifespan of current digital storage.
• The system encodes data into 3D pixels (voxels) within silica glass plates, resistant to temperature, moisture, and electromagnetic interference.
• Unlike energy-hungry data centers, glass storage requires no climate control, saving energy and offering unhackable, unalterable data preservation.
• A single glass plate can hold data equivalent to two million books or 5,000 4K films, a significant leap in data density.
• Challenges remain in faster writing, mass production, and easy data access, but experts hail it as a milestone for preserving human knowledge.