Dominique Pestre is a social and political historian.Hos speech was entitled "What kind of innovation for the Anthropocene?". Watch the keynote on the Ecsite YouTube channel.

Dominique Pestre's current work encompasses the relations between the so-called techno-sciences and society at large, including the economy, politics, and war. He is Director of Research at the EHESS in Paris, and a former Chair of the Research Centre on the History of Science and Techniques in La Villette, and the Centre Koyré (CNRS/EHESS). He is active as an invited professor or fellow in numerous universities and academic bodies all over Europe and the Americas. He is a member of the Panel for the ERC Advanced Grant.

The catchword of our time, innovation is said to be the key to economic success. States invest more today on innovation than during the Cold War. But at a time of Anthropocene, should we not consider which kind of innovation to favour? Do sustainable, distributed, bottom-up or responsible innovations have relevance? Do innovations have politics we could discuss? This lecture will not give definite answers but question our innovation regime, and where it might lead us.