An overview of the ‘Externalization’ of memory

An account of technologically extended semantic, episodic, and prospective memory

Dados Bibliográficos

ID17831778
AutoresNicolas Crozatier (Institut des langues et cultures d'Europe, Amérique, Afrique, Asie et Australie, autor correspondente)
Ano2026
Volume5
Data de publicação2026-01-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoMemory Mind & Media (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 2635-0238 • E-ISSN: 2635-0238
EditoraCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/mem.2026.10034
OpenAlexW7159815695
IdiomaEN
Referências citadas82

This paper offers a systematic and interdisciplinary analysis of contemporary work on memory externalization, with a particular focus on how technological systems are integrated into human mnemonic practices. Drawing on the frameworks of extended cognition (EXT), the article examines how a wide range of digital technologies participate in memory processes. The paper provides a structured review of how three forms of declarative memory – semantic, episodic, and prospective – are differentially externalized through technological environments. While existing literature often discusses ‘external memory’ in general terms, it rarely distinguishes between the specific functions involved, leading to conceptual imprecision. Addressing this gap, the article develops a refined conceptual taxonomy of memory externalization. Its central contribution is the distinction between two fundamentally different externalization strategies. Cognitive offloading refers to the delegation of information to external systems in order to reduce internal cognitive load. Biloading, by contrast, refers to a strategy of redundancy in which internal and external resources jointly support memory, not by replacement but by reinforcement, enhancing reliability, well-being, autonomy, construction of narrative identity. By clarifying these distinct modes of externalization, the paper shows that memory externalization is not a uniform phenomenon but a complex pattern of cognitive delegation and coordination between neural and technological resources. This conceptual framework offers a more fine-grained understanding of how external resources, such as technology, are integrated into mnemonic processes. The article argues that this taxonomy provides a significant contribution to the contemporary philosophy of memory and opens new avenues for empirical and philosophical research on technologically EXT

Cognition · Conceptual framework · Delegation · Externalization · Mnemonic · Narrative · Cognitive Functions and Memory · Memory Processes and Influences · Memory, Trauma, and Commemoration