The PC5 is called Pathways: “Resilient and sufficient digital systems within limits, constraints and tipping risks”.
The development of digital technology, whether in terms of technological advances or uses, has so far been based on strong growth. Resource constraints, planetary limits, and environmental challenges are now calling this growth into question. This project is dedicated to exploring what a world would look like if digital technology were to stagnate, or even decline, become intermittent, and unreliable. The aim here is not to design a more robust digital world, i.e., one capable of cop- ing with unforeseen events, but rather a resilient digital world and society, i.e., one capable of liv- ing with and overcoming even major, sudden, and unexpected failures.
Planetary boundaries first require us to imagine and design trajectories and methods, both tech- nical and social, to bring digital development into line with these boundaries. This involves taking into account the reduction of resources (energy, but also raw materials), the need to reduce pol- lution (carbon emissions, but also waste produced), and the requirements for sobriety of use, reusability, and reparability. We will develop scenarios for the future of digital technology that take these new dimensions fully into account. We will study their impact on society and usage, as well as on the technologies of the future. These methods must go far beyond the usual improvement in efficiency, which is subject to rebound effects: the aim here is to design a digital technology that is constrained, limited, possibly intermittent, but compatible with the situation.
Conversely, climate and environmental prospects, whether extreme events or insufficient or inter- mittent resources, for example, raise the issue of digital dependency. In this context, it is not only a question of developing robust and resilient digital technology, but also robust and resilient infra- structure and society despite digital failures. We will therefore work on the ability of systems to absorb shocks, adapt to even major changes, and recover (quickly) from such events. Assessing this resilience is a challenge in itself, whether for digital systems or, more broadly, for infrastruc- ture that is dependent on digital technology. We will design solutions for a more resilient digital world on the one hand, and solutions for a society that is more resilient to digital failures on the other. In particular, we will explore several key scenarios, ranging from planned service disruptions to unexpected and potentially violent shocks.
Leaders: Matthieu Latapy (LIP6 - CNRS, Sorbonne Univ.), Philippe Ciblat (LTCI - Telecom Paris, IP Paris), Philippe Durance (CNAM)