When Is an Artifact? Identity Across Time

Abstract This manuscript develops a philosophy-of-technology account of artifact identity under conditions of continuous change. Focusing on software-mediated, adaptive, and infrastructural technologies, it argues that artifacts persist as “the same” only insofar as identity-relevant invariants—constraints, commitments, and accountability interfaces—are preserved across updates, reconfigurations, and governance shifts. The paper distinguishes superficial continuity (naming, branding, market category) from substantive identity continuity grounded in inspectable and enforceable invariants, and introduces a trajectory-centered model that treats artifacts as temporally extended entities rather than static objects. Framing identity as a governance and responsibility problem as much as a metaphysical one, the work clarifies when continuity claims are warranted, how identity drift becomes ethically consequential, and why contemporary artifacts require versioned commitments and traceable transformation histories to remain intelligible and accountable over time.