Personal histories often fade with time, lost in the rushing current of modern life. Few understand this better than those working at the intersection of human experience and technology. Cristian Cibils Bernardes, founder and CEO of Autograph, has built his career around solving this universal challenge. Coming from Paraguay with a Stanford education in Symbolic Systems, Cristian is leveraging AI technology to ensure that our most important stories, our own, aren’t lost to time.
Moving from Paraguay to Silicon Valley
Cristian didn’t take the typical route to tech entrepreneurship. “I come from Paraguay in the heart of South America,” he says, a place not often associated with tech founders. But his background in Symbolic Systems from Stanford gave him the tools to approach old problems with fresh eyes. “I’ve always believed in the power of creativity and thoughtful technology to tackle humanity’s biggest challenges,” Cristian explains. His perspective is shaped by straddling two worlds: the rich storytelling traditions of his homeland and the cutting-edge tech scene of California.
Solving the Telephone Game problem
Think about how stories are passed down in your family. Someone tells a story to someone else, who then passes it on again. Details change. Important parts get left out. “Humanity comes from a great tradition of oral history,” Cristian points out. “We just inherit stories from the previous generation and the previous generation before that.”The result? “It’s a big game of telephone over the ages that leads to loss and a lack of authenticity.”
Cristian’s solution cuts through this age old problem. “AI can actually record your stories as it’s happening to you and preserve them in incredibly authentic and reliable ways.” No more forgotten details or misremembered events, just the real story, saved for good.
Organize and Contextualize Your Story
Having a collection of saved memories isn’t the same as having a complete story. That’s where Cristian’s second insight comes in. “Autograph also helps you organize and contextualize your story,” he says. This isn’t just about tidiness, it’s about deeper self understanding. “The more awareness we bring to the fact that we’re living out stories every day with our actions, the more we understand that we’re actually the protagonist in our own story.”
This shift in perspective transforms how we see both our past and present. “It helps us understand where we come from and help us understand the parameters of basically our existence.” It’s heavy stuff for a tech product, but Cristian doesn’t shy away from the deeper implications of his work.
Use Autograph to Control and Share Your Narrative
The third piece of Autograph’s approach might just be the most important. “Autograph also lets you take control of your own narrative and share your narrative with others,” Cristian explains. Instead of letting social media algorithms or other people define who you are, you get to shape your own story. There’s power in that control. “The more we understand the impact we have on other people, the more agency we have to understand where life can go and where life can take us.”
This isn’t just about personal benefit. Cristian sees broader social good coming from better self-understanding. “That act of self-reflection actually leads to self-improvement and I think overall just more pro-social future.”
As life speeds up, our stories risk getting lost in the shuffle. “In a world moving faster than ever, understanding and taking charge of your own story matters more than ever before,” Cristian says. His bottom line is refreshingly human for a tech founder. “With Autograph, we’re helping people capture the essence of who they are using the power of AI to preserve it. Because your life story isn’t just data, it’s your legacy.”
Or, as he puts it more simply: “At the end of the day, at Autograph, we believe your story is worth remembering.”
Follow Cristian Cibils Bernardes on LinkedIn to explore how AI can transform human storytelling.
