Why digitization changes things essentially.

Oct 8, 2025

Earlier this year, my essay (in Dutch) discussing how digitized items differ essentially from their analog counterparts. A digitized item is not just some binary representation of the analog counterpart; that part is stored in a form that is unaccessible and unuseful to humans. Instead a computer running software must first take this binary representation and present it in some actionable form.

This difference is manifested in the changefulness of digitized objects. I illustrate this point by comparing the presentation of a digitized item by a computer as the performance of a play, whose parts are constantly being rewritten by independently operating playwrights.

This essay appeared Podium voor Bio-ethiek 31(4) (Platform for Bio-ethics) published by the Dutch Association for Bio-ethics (Nederlandse Vereniging voor Bio-ethiek).