Episode 102 | A Look Inside How AI Would Work in the Library of Congress w/ Carl Watts

In this episode of Data Unchained, host Molly Presley is joined by Carl Watts of the Library of Congress for a deep dive into what it takes to manage and preserve one of the largest and most complex data environments in the world. Carl shares firsthand insight into overseeing more than 150 petabytes of historical data, navigating large scale tape migrations, and confronting the governance, copyright, and operational challenges that come with applying AI to national archives. The conversation explores whether artificial intelligence can responsibly unlock siloed collections across text, audio, video, and web archives, and what it truly costs to move, protect, and future proof America’s digital memory at petabyte scale.