Cristian Cibils Bernardes is on a mission to capture something civilization has long struggled with, to fully preserve the authentic, unfiltered stories of living human beings. As founder of Autograph, Cibils Bernardes isn’t just building a tech product. He’s building a time capsule of human experience that’s powered by AI to ensure that future generations can fully hear the voices of the past.
Autograph is poised to become what Cibils Bernardes calls “Humanity’s Historian” by offering a digital chronicle of lived experience where users can record stories, memories, and reflections. All of which can be passed down and accessed like the oral traditions of the past on a platform that’s easily searchable, structured, and intuitive to use. “I am endlessly fascinated by trying to figure out how we ended up here,” CibilsBernardes says. “What is the sequence of things that happened and how were they told and retold that morphed into the modern world?”
Turning Oral History into Living Memory
At the core of Cibils Bernardes’ vision is a desire to repair the fragility of memory in an era where human history often falls through the cracks. “The idea that we can bring the benefits of the digital age into the oldest form of human connection, which is oral history, I think is particularly exciting.”
Through Autograph, users interact with a digital historian named Walter, named after famed biographer Walter Isaacson, who can surface stories and insights from users’ own ancestors. Cibils Bernardes imagines a near future where “Walter” becomes a companion that offers timely reflections during life’s biggest decisions. “You’re picking between a job and a relationship, and Walter says, ‘Hey, this reminds you of something your great-grandfather went through. Do you want to talk to him for 15 minutes?’”
A Sci-Fi Foundation with Real-World Urgency
Cibils Bernardes draws inspiration from science fiction, particularly the works of Isaac Asimov and the concept of knowledge preservation in the face of collapse. “This has elements of Foundation,” he notes, “this storage vault of knowledge that will help steer us and remind us of who we are.”
The fragility of society became painfully clear to Cibils Bernardes during the pandemic. “Society is extremely fragile,” he says. “Your car breaks down, you can’t fix it. The power goes out—what do you do?” These thoughts propelled him to imagine Autograph not just as a personal memory tool but as a bulwark against the loss of accumulated wisdom. “Think of the Library of Alexandria and how much we lost. Those were the most important things to keep, erased by whatever lower instincts were expressed at the time.”
Designing for Privacy, Relevance, and Legacy
Cibils Bernardes has paid particular attention to how Autograph handles the intimacy of memory. “We chunk [the data] into different segments, facts, statements, stories, and each gets added into our database with privacy settings,” he explained. For example, a user could record a story with the instruction: “I only want my kids to find this out when they’re 18.”
Autograph’s proprietary retrieval system mimics how humans recall memories. “It’s [like] biomimicry. We think we have a continuous story that’s happening to us, and we constantly summarize it. That’s our sense of identity,” he explained. The goal is for Autograph to “remember things the way you do,” making it not just a historian, but a companion that thinks in rhythm with its user.
A Future Built with Museums, Families, and Institutions
While the family remains the starting point, Cibils Bernardes envisions Autograph extending its reach to historical societies, museums, and academic institutions. “We’re excited to partner with historical foundations to make sure the legacies of their members are preserved,” he says.
He imagines interactive museum exhibits where “Walter is the tour guide,” giving voice to the people who shaped history. From Holocaust survivors to founders of companies, and everyday individuals like Rosa Parks, who changed the world with one simple choice. There’s a place in his vision for everyone.
A Legacy Remembered, A Future Inspired
Cristian Cibils Bernardes is more than just the founder of a cutting-edge technology company. He’s a visionary archivist of humanity’s shared story. Through Autograph, he is shaping a world where memories are not only preserved but rediscovered in the moments that matter most.
“There’s a very deep human thing here that we’re exploring,” Cibils Bernardes reflects. “Especially in a world where things are changing so fast, I think we’re going to want to remember the fabric of society that got us here.”
To understand more about this historical revolution in the making, sign up to the Autograph waitlist here, and follow Cristian Cibils Bernardes on LinkedIn and X.
