Concept of a document and documents’ transformation as technology changes

The end of the 20th century marked the beginning of the document digitalisation process which caused various discussions among professionals regarding the concept of documentation and the main differences between physical medium and digital medium. Some concerns were raised regarding the lack of ability to identify the integrity, immutability and authenticity of such documents – the three qualities integral for any document. Analogue documents (written, photographic or audiovisual documents) are inseparable from the medium, then their authenticity and originality can always be verified by technical means. Thus, the question of how digital born documents should be handled and whether the lack of processes to identify the validity of such document makes them automatically not integral, immutable, and authentic remains. While digital documents are simple to transfer and easy to reproduce, they are difficult to authenticate and might cause difficulty to view and use in the future.