Cycle IA

To question our democracy is also to understand the technological transformations that are silently reshaping our public life. As artificial intelligence disrupts our societies, the Théâtre de la Concorde offers a space where researchers, citizens, artists, and public debate actors can collectively reflect on these profound changes.

How can we preserve our democracies in the face of new power dynamics, digital platforms, and artificial intelligence systems that are now reconfiguring our relationship with information, knowledge, and politics? Conceived and led by Hugo Micheron, associate professor at Sciences Po's School of Public Affairs, the public seminar "IA, démocraties et milieu informationnel" (AI, Democracies, and the Information Environment), organised by the Théâtre de la Concorde and Sciences Po, returns for a third edition. After two seasons dedicated to fractures in the public sphere, information manipulation, and contemporary geopolitical realignments, this new cycle proposes to shift focus towards the structural transformations that artificial intelligence is imposing on European societies. From September 2026 to May 2027, each session will bring together an academic with an artist, writer, intellectual, or public figure to cross perspectives and fuel debate. Programme of meetings:

September 23 / Digital Sovereignty and Online Public Space

The cycle opens with a major interview featuring Anna Zeiter, co-founder and CEO of W Social. This meeting will explore the conditions for European digital sovereignty and the challenges of reclaiming the online public space. As a European alternative to major social networks, W Social advocates for a model based on identity verification, data hosting in Europe, and GDPR compliance.

October 21 / Privacy, Encryption, and the Surveillance Economy

This session will be dedicated to privacy protection and encryption technologies. It will examine these tools as means to preserve individual freedoms in the face of an economic model based on the massive collection and exploitation of personal data.

December 2 / The Quantification of the World

At the crossroads of science and literature, this meeting will offer a reflection on the mi