The Internet of Things is the future, but it's also key to the past. Yes, its main function may be to make environments and objects more reactive to our needs through the use of various connected sensors, but increasingly these sensors are being used to monitor historic buildings and structures.
And thanks to such monitoring, we're getting better at preserving the world's heritage, using future technology to keep us connected to our collective past.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/simonchandler/2019/11/18/the-internet-of-things-is-key-to-preserving-world-history