22.06.2026 – Our Archive: From Analog to Digital

A year ago, we began digitizing our previously analog archive spanning the last four decades. At first, the goal was simply to replicate the structure of the cardboard folders and tabs, as well as the clear pockets inside them, in digital form.

But we soon realized: OCR recognition is feasible, as is date recognition using AI – and it works quite well even with handwritten dates… Our association’s AI can now also search through, gather, and summarize information spanning decades. It’s truly amazing how much more accessible our archive has become thanks to digitization.

But even our association’s AI isn’t infallible: Now we have to verify the suggested dates. That requires additional human effort. Even though no one knows where the AI journey will take our society, one thing is certain: we must not trust it blindly. Critical scrutiny and oversight are always necessary.