Antoine Picon will speak on this topic on Thursday, September 1, 2022, during the "inaugural lectures for first-year students at École des Ponts ParisTech" (10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Caquot lecture hall, Coriolis Building).
The industrial era saw the rise of the engineer as the embodiment of progress that was inextricably linked to both technology and society. The promises of engineering seemed to transcend ideological divides. Whether capitalist or communist, people appreciated the achievements of engineers. This optimism no longer seems entirely appropriate today, as technical progress is far from unanimously accepted. The acceleration of climate change has amplified these doubts. More generally, engineering no longer seems capable of shaping the future desired by entire segments of the population in developed countries who are sensitive to the issues of necessary energy transition and degrowth. Questioning its future means accepting to confront the question, unthinkable a few decades ago, of the validity of progress.