Identity in a digital world
The concept of identity – the distinguishing character or personality of an individual – has been a fundamental feature throughout human history. Thousands of years before our identities were stored digitally in the cloud, humans used language objects and documents to confirm their individuality. By the time of the ancient Greeks, the question “Who are you?” would be answered not only with a name, but personal traits, social standing, and their line of ancestors.
Identity (ID) documents on the other hand have a much briefer history. One precursor to national ID cards was introduced in Napoleonic France as a means of streamlining bureaucracy – and found quick epigones, such as in the Ottoman Empire. Many contemporary ID cards then emerged during The Second World War. While ID cards often form the basis of government services, this is not a global standard. In the US, state-issued ID documents have only followed a common standard since 2005,
and no national ID system exists. Globally, 850 million people do not have any identity document.
In the analogue world, identity is, therefore, not universal and is somewhat fragmented. This holds true for a wider definition of identity. The question of an organisational or corporate identity had first been answered in the same wave of bureaucratisation in the 19th century. The UK, for instance, introduced company registration in 1844.5 Company registers may contain information such as owners, legal name, registration details, director details and business structure, but this may differ depending on a country’s legal environment. Furthermore, unlike many features of personal identity, almost every field in a company register is subject to change. Company registers and registration numbers have since remained the non-plus-ultra for corporate identity until very recently.
Amid this all but incomplete ecosystem, a new need for identity emerges. With the rapid digitisation of society, digital identity will form a cornerstone for certain interactions on the internet
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