A software error has exposed the vulnerability of Bengaluru’s growing digital heritage archives, after an AI-assisted coding tool reportedly deleted about 15% of records from a project documenting the city’s historic inscriptions. The incident highlights a wider challenge for urban heritage programmes: digitisation can protect fragile historical material, but poorly controlled automation can introduce new risks to the very records it is intended to preserve.
The affected work is linked to the Bengaluru Inscriptions 3D Digital Conservation Project, which has been documenting historic stone inscriptions across Bengaluru and surrounding areas. The initiative uses 3D scanning and digital models to preserve information from physical records that can deteriorate, disappear or become inaccessible as the city expands. That vulnerability is not theoretical. Earlier fieldwork by the project found that around 30% to 40% of approximately 1,500 inscriptions documented in its wider survey area had already been lost. Digital preservation therefore has an important role in retaining historical evidence even when the original stone is damaged or disappears. The latest incident adds another layer to the preservation challenge. The reported deletion occurred while AI-assisted coding was being used on the project’s digital records. Such tools can accelerate software development and data management, but an automated system can also make large-scale changes quickly when permissions, backups and human review are inadequate.
For heritage projects, the consequences can be particularly serious. An inscription is not simply an image or a database entry. Its location, script, historical period, language and associated archaeological context can all contribute to understanding how Bengaluru developed. Researchers have used inscription evidence to examine subjects ranging from land grants and taxation to water bodies, trade and local administration. The project has already moved towards sophisticated digital preservation. Its work has included 3D scanning, digital mapping and the creation of interactive databases. A separate platform developed around the project provides access to thousands of ancient Kannada characters, full-text inscriptions, contextual imagery and maps covering more than 1,500 inscriptions.The episode underscores why Bengaluru heritage digitisation needs the same safeguards expected of other critical urban datasets. Version-controlled archives, independent backups, restricted deletion permissions and human approval for destructive operations can reduce the risk of irreversible losses.
For a city undergoing rapid redevelopment, preserving historical records is part of responsible urban planning. Technology can make Bengaluru’s past more accessible, but long-term conservation will depend on combining digital tools with rigorous data governance and continued physical protection of the original heritage.
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