The construction of autobiographical memories in the self-memory system

Summary

Proposes the self-memory system: autobiographical memories are not stored records but transitory constructions, formed as the current goals of a “working self” shape cues into an autobiographical knowledge base. The relation is reciprocal — the knowledge base also grounds those goals.

CommentaryWhat an AI “remembers” about a person is likewise reconstructed at the moment of use, which is why keeping the original record separate from each reconstruction matters.