ArchXAI at DLM Forum Copenhagen 2025
On 4th and 5th of Novenber, 2025, Anssi Jääskeläinen, research manager at Xamk, participated to DLM Forum meeting and presented the ArchXAI project and its first technical developments.
The DLM Forum opened with a brief yet powerful address by Anja Paulič, Chair of the DLM Board, who framed the two-day gathering as a pivotal moment for Europe’s archival community. She emphasized the urgent need to safeguard the reliability of archived information in an era of rapid political and technological change. Her remarks were reinforced by Kirsten Villadsen Kristmar, Deputy Director of the Danish National Archives, who warned that the Russian war in Ukraine illustrates how state actors can deliberately erase evidence of a people’s existence—threatening the very notion of national continuity.
The morning’s highlight was a thought-provoking keynote by Nanna Bonde Thylstrup (figure), exploring the emerging politics of data disappearance in digital archives. She cited the Trump administration’s overnight removal of climate change datasets as a stark example of how governments can unilaterally delete information that challenges official narratives. The talk also noted the Internet Archive’s consideration of relocating operations to Europe as a safeguard against such unilateral erasures. Bonde Thylstrup posed a broader question: Can we continue to trust non-European AI-driven services that may alter usage rights or data collection rules at the whim of corporate policy or political decree?
Several sessions shifted the discussion toward practical solutions. The ArchXAI project was presented as a response to the challenge of time-consuming information requests. A technical demonstration highlighted both the opportunities and risks of synthetic data generation. In addition, a beta version of a dynamic HTR training material generator—developed within ArchXAI—sparked significant interest among participants.
The forum also addressed the evolving funding landscape. The eARK CSP initiative lost its EU funding earlier than expected, as resources were redirected toward broader security measures in response to geopolitical tensions. Despite this setback, work continues through the DLM Forum’s sub-forum, ensuring that progress does not stall.
Looking ahead, the next DLM Forum will convene in Bern, Switzerland, on 24–25 March 2026, and the ArchXAI project intends to be present.
