Technology and Innovation

TechInn - ISSN 2399-8571 - © ISTE Ltd

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Artificial intelligence (AI) is having an increasingly significant impact on society, offering benefits such as process optimisation and improved decision-making. However, its rapid adoption also poses under-assessed risks. This exploratory study examines risk denial, a cognitive bias whereby individuals fail to acknowledge the potential negative impacts of AI. Using a mixed-methods approach involving 13 semi-structured interviews and a pre/post quantitative design, the research explores how emotional disengagement and bias influence perceptions of AI risks. Key themes that emerged include resigned acceptance, threats to employment and privacy, and the need for regulation. Participants often felt powerless, viewing the rise of AI as inevitable and beyond individual control. The study therefore calls for stronger legal frameworks, ethical standards and public education to support informed decision-making. Counterfactual scenarios and real-world examples were employed to encourage reflection and assess attitude changes. The findings suggest that emotional distance and the normalisation of AI risks contribute to passive acceptance. This highlights the importance of fostering critical engagement and societal dialogue. However, given the small sample size, the findings are preliminary and are intended to inform future research.

The digital transformation of non-life insurance services in France is a prime example of the technological disruption that is reshaping the financial services sector. Driven primarily by the adoption of artificial intelligence and the emergence of insurtech solutions, this transformation presents a complex interplay between operational gains and systemic challenges. While AI has the potential to significantly enhance productivity and reduce operational costs, its implementation raises important questions about strategic positioning, financial sustainability and ethical governance. To elucidate these dynamics, we employ the systemic framework proposed by Ivanov and Webster (2019), which links technological change to organisational restructuring and ecosystem reconfiguration. This framework allows us to examine the functional architecture of insurance enterprises, identifying which capabilities are candidates for externalisation versus internal retention, whilst also accounting for the firm’s relational dynamics with ecosystem participants, including competing insurers, artificial intelligence providers, insurtech enterprises and technology giants. Our analysis reveals that AI and insurtech solutions catalyse profound structural reconfiguration within the insurance ecosystem. This manifests as three principal transformations: migration from ex-post indemnification to ex-ante risk prevention; evolution of pricing mechanisms from segmentation-based to behaviourally informed; and transition of risk management from retrospective to prospective orientation. Through this institutional lens, we identify the barriers that constrain rapid adoption and outline a research agenda to advance the empirical understanding of how these technological and organisational changes are reshaping insurance enterprises and the broader sectoral architecture.

This article explores the influence of science fiction cinema on innovation processes in the field of artificial intelligence. Through the analysis of a corpus of approximately forty films from the 1960s to the present day, the study highlights the evolution of technophobic, technophilic, and ambivalent representations. These fictional narratives act as a “technifying imaginal world,” a concept derived from Henry Corbin’s mundus imaginalis, serving as an interface between the purely conceptual sphere and the realization of technical infrastructures. By imbuing technological mutations with profound meaning, this imaginary contributes to the social construction of expectations and stimulates the ethical reflection of designers. Drawing on Paul Ricoeur’s theory of Triple Mimesis, the article demonstrates that fiction does not merely imitate reality, but rather reconfigures the ethical and praxeological horizon of those involved in innovation. Furthermore, science fiction generates an "imaginal connection," a concept borrowed from Michel Maffesoli, which forges a social, emotional, and communal bond between engineers and scientists. Ultimately, science fiction establishes itself as the mythology of capitalism’s future, transforming both unsettling and wondrous projections into a powerful engine of technoscientific progress.

Innovation in the medical and surgical fields seeks to optimize the quality of care delivered to patients. This study provides an overview of the new technologies that support this innovation in the field of orthopedics and traumatology and illustrates their application in the specific case of Nice University Hospital. It is based on a review of the literature and an interview with a university hospital research director focused on improving the care of patients with osteoarticular trauma. The results of this state-of-the-art review present the advantages and limitations of various technologies: modeling, simulation and three-dimensional (3D) printing, extended visualization, robotic and navigation systems, and internet and smartphone applications. Their integration into healthcare facilities and the healthcare ecosystem is discussed in relation to the concept of digital twins and criteria for human, organizational, and societal feasibility. This study contributes to the thinking of surgeons and their teams in developing their digital devices.

The paper presents a comparative analysis between the EU and the UK digital and operational resilience requirements for financial services. Focusing on the insurance industry, considering its role in providing cover for operational risks, and cyber-related ones in particular, it captures developments in relation to risk management practices. Specifically, commenting on the prudential provisions underpinning risk management systems, frameworks, and assessments, in line with Solvency II. The link between operational risk activities is also discussed as an extension of this comparison. Effectively capturing how disaster recovery (DR), business continuity planning (BCP), third-party risk management (TPRM) and outsourcing are reflected in digital and operational resilience approaches. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the similarities and differences between the EU and the UK regulatory regime in relation to digital and operational resilience requirements for re-insurance undertakings. Practical recommendations to support adherence to both underlying requirements are presented, assisting re-insurers operating in those jurisdictions.

The study assesses the potential of innovative agroecological practices to constitute green economic models in Cameroon. Four improved scenarios are compared with the dominant subsistence farming. In the forest zone: crop association with legumes and Tithonia-based biofertilizer. In the Highlands: crop association with legumes and enriched compost, or monoculture with Tithonia liquid fertilizer. In the Sudano-Sahelian zone: crop association with legumes, animal traction, and Neem-based biofertilizer. Results, based on economic calculations, show higher net gains for agroecological innovations. This gain depends on access to suitable financing mechanisms. The innovations studied provide a sustainable alternative to subsistence farming. It is recommended to promote their large-scale adoption in Cameroon.

Contrary to popular belief, improving the ecological situation does not necessarily imply a decrease in GDP. It is first necessary to reassess the importance of the free use values of nature, and to construct a Living Conditions Indicator that takes these use values into account. Then a long-term economic program (2026-2050) is proposed, which allows for an ecological reconversion associated with an improvement in the living conditions of the population (in particular the reduction of working hours). It is based on a strong increase in labor productivity, favored by a strong investment, coupled with moderate economic growth and a drastic reduction in all kinds of inequalities.

This article analyzes the rise of impact investing (II) since the 2010s, presented as a way to reconcile financial performance with social and environmental transformation. Based on the principles of intentionality, additionality, and measurability, II is developing within a field marked by tensions between profitability and extra-financial objectives, standardization and contextualization, transformative ambition and risks of drift (greenwashing, mission drift). The study shows that impact measurement instruments play a performative role: they do not merely assess but actively shape priorities and the allocation of capital. However, this financialization of commons and of living systems raises major ethical and political issues. The article thus underlines the need for inclusive governance that integrates vulnerable stakeholders, as well as for context-based impact metrics. In conclusion, impact investing can only deliver on its transformative promise if it reconfigures its instruments, governance structures, and evaluation frameworks, in order to foster a just, inclusive, and democratic transition rather than aligning with the dominant logics of finance.

More and more public organizations implement participatory approaches such as co-creation to strengthen their relationship with the population and design public policies that meet citizens’ needs. However, some groups remain systematically absent from these processes. First, this article proposes four analytical dimensions to characterize the co-creation of public policies and compare its scope from one initiative to another. It then examines the concept of non-participation and analyzes its underlying causes. Finally, five approaches identified in the literature are presented as potentially enhancing the inclusiveness of co-creation initiatives: outreach, incentives, digital tools, the mobilization of ambassadors, and skills development. Addressed to both researchers and practitioners, the article thus provides concrete avenues for engaging typically “invisible” publics and rethinking the inclusivity of co-creation.

This research presents an innovative digital platform that combines the Haitian kolòn model with the communities of practice theory to support projects’ co-design and collaborative learning in maker spaces. Built on a study involving 57 participants and five international maker communities, this platform has been designed to facilitate peer learning and skills development through a distributed mentoring system. Our results show significant improvements in collaborative capabilities and project success rates. The results highlight the co-creation process of a technological solution centered on a community-based, collaborative and inclusive approach. This work contributes to advancing innovation and skills development in the field of digital fabrication by providing a framework for ‘learning by making together’ that bridges virtual and physical maker spaces.