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>> Our cultural heritage as individuals, communities,
and countries provides a link to where we
came from and informs us about where we want to go.
>> It's embodied in the people we know,
the languages we speak,
the places we visit,
and the historical artifacts that we hold dear.
>> But as new technology propels us into the future,
how do we honor our past?
How can we use today's digital tools to preserve and
celebrate what makes us who we are and
helps us understand our place in the world?
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>> Longquan Monastery is
a steward of a massive collection of ancient Buddhist literature.
>> The monastery's tech savvy monks and
volunteers are what makes this temple so unique.
Many have computer science degrees
in backgrounds in the IT industry.
They're bridging past and present while embracing new technology.
>> Xian'er, move forward.
People must look forward
for China to have a future full of hope.
>> For centuries,
scholars have pored over
these texts and built upon one another's work,
seeking new understandings and insights.
But editing and translating millions of characters and
ensuring that that data lives on is a perennial challenge.
>> Now that we have the AI technology,
we can use the AI to do the automated searching
and comparing with the original texts.
This work is very urgent.
Because if we don't collect and seek out
the ancient literature, it will eventually become lost.
And today we feel like we have the responsibility
to dig out the essence of the traditional culture
to benefit people in the modern society.
It can also help us face the future in a better way.
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>> One place where
culture is on grand display is in Normandy,
France, where Mont Saint-Michel soars above the coastline.
>> Designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site,
Mont Saint-Michel has withstood centuries of change and conflict.
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>> A detailed relief map of
this architectural marvel was painstakingly built by hand in
the 17th century as a military tool for King Louis XIV.
>> Oh my goodness the cathedral.
>> Look at that.
Look inside.
>> It's a magical place for France
and for the whole world too.
>> In 2018, Microsoft
set out with partners
across France to help bring this treasure to life.
By creating an immersive experience
exploring the centuries old landmark.
>> Using Azure, French startup Iconem,
captured and analyze tens of thousands of photos
of the 17th century model to build a digital replica.
>> What will your model enabled people to do?
>> They will effectively be able to walk through
environments that no longer exist.
Our goal is to save the memory of the
endangered sites and architectures around the world.
>> For us, the point of digital technology and HoloLens
is to tell the story of the model
as well as the history of the site depicted.
During the experience there's a magic moment
when one observes the visitors,
they change their perspective and at that moment
one sees them exclaim, "wow."
We often talk about experiencing something,
and I just had a real experience,
at once virtual, digital, but at the same time,
I would say, aesthetic and historical
because a dialogue starts almost immediately between
the model as we see it today
in this Musée des Plans-Reliefs
but also, the universe it is linked to, that is to say,
Mont Saint-Michel.
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