Is another vision of technology possible?

Round table Techno-discernment

TheESSEC Transition Alumni Club and theESSEC Digital & TechnologyClub, with the support ofAlumni ACTandTelecom Paris, invite you to attend a conference:

Round Table Techno-Discernment
Is another vision of technology possible?

We live in paradoxical times! The age of artificial intelligence, biotechnology and geoengineering. But also of climate change, the sixth mass extinction, extractivism... An era full of contradictions, in which technology may appear to be a common denominator.

Technology is everywhere, inextricably intertwined with our lives, and even more so since the advent of the smartphone, the pledge of modernity and societal progress. We rely on innovation to solve our problems (including those created by previous innovations). A company that fails to innovate seems doomed to fall behind its competitors.

Technological progress seems inexorable... Even when an innovation raises profound questions, its adoption can be massive. ChatGPT took just two months to reach 100 million users, compared to Instagram's two years...

However, planetary limits and social justice call into question this endless race, and our technological choices, which ultimately structure our relationships with others and with the world.

Is it possible to imagine a world in which technology plays a different role, one that is consistent with the planet's habitability? A world where we are more circumspect and selective when it comes to innovation? A world where we cultivate our capacity for discernment when it comes to technology?

Following on from the October 14, 2025 ciné-discussion with low-tech players who are experimenting on a daily basis, often on a small scale(https://www.telecom-paris-alumni.fr/shortUrl/zsKZ), we'll be exploring with our two speakers the ways in which techno-discernment can be more widely deployed in our societies:

📣 Speakers:

Philippe Bihouix, Managing Director, AREP Group
An engineering graduate of the École Centrale Paris, Philippe Bihouix has been devoting his thoughts for over fifteen years to the issues of energy transition and the use of non-renewable resources, and to the technological challenges that arise from them. He is the author of "L'Âge des low tech, Vers une civilisation techniquement soutenable" (Seuil, 2014), more recently of the comic strip " Ressources, un défi pour l'humanité" with Vincent Perriot (Casterman, 2024) and issue 68 of TRACTS magazine "L'insoutenable abondance : Should we believe the prophets of progress? "(Gallimard, 2025).

Mathilde Convert, Foresight Coordinator at ADEME
Mathilde Convert is a generalist agronomist specializing in environmental science and technology, and is in charge of ADEME's foresight activities.narios Transition(s) 2050, which present contrasting economic, technical and social options for achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

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Tuesday 16 December 2025
18:45 - 21:45 (GMT +1)

Registration deadline : 15th December

Event organised in person and online

ESSEC House
11 avenue de Friedland
75008 Paris
CALCULATE MY ITINERARY

Online

5 € Presential - Student rate
Distanciel student and contributor
15 € Presential- Alumni contributors
Distanciel non-contributors
25 € Presential full price

Location

ESSEC House

11 avenue de Friedland
75008 Paris

Additional information (parking, underground, etc.)

Paris - Metro George V

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Is another vision of technology possible?

📣 Speakers:

See all events

Tuesday 16 December 2025
18:45 - 21:45 (GMT +1)

Registration deadline : 15th December

Event organised in person and online

ESSEC House
11 avenue de Friedland
75008 Paris
CALCULATE MY ITINERARY

Online

ESSEC House

Additional information (parking, underground, etc.)

See all events

Tuesday 16 December 2025
18:45 - 21:45 (GMT +1)

Registration deadline : 15th December

Event organised in person and online

ESSEC House
11 avenue de Friedland
75008 Paris
CALCULATE MY ITINERARY

Online

CONTACT

Télécom paris alumni

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Events calendar

📣 Speakers:

Tuesday 16 December 2025 18:45 - 21:45 (GMT +1) Registration deadline : 15th December

Event organised in person and online

ESSEC House 11 avenue de Friedland 75008 Paris CALCULATE MY ITINERARY

Online

ESSEC House

Additional information (parking, underground, etc.)

Tuesday 16 December 2025 18:45 - 21:45 (GMT +1) Registration deadline : 15th December

Event organised in person and online

ESSEC House 11 avenue de Friedland 75008 Paris CALCULATE MY ITINERARY

Online

CONTACT

Télécom paris alumni

Add to my calendar

Tuesday 16 December 2025
18:45 - 21:45 (GMT +1)

Registration deadline : 15th December

ESSEC House
11 avenue de Friedland
75008 Paris
CALCULATE MY ITINERARY

Tuesday 16 December 2025
18:45 - 21:45 (GMT +1)

Registration deadline : 15th December

ESSEC House
11 avenue de Friedland
75008 Paris
CALCULATE MY ITINERARY