Are World Models set to transform AI?

Jean Ponce, Professor at École normale supérieure-PSL and Global Distinguished Professor at New York University

On September 2nd, 2026 4 min reading time

The limitations of LLMs pave the way for “world models,” which are designed to understand the dynamics of the physical world.

Climate change is affecting power grids, here's what to expect

Philippe Drobinski, CNRS Research Director, Professor at Ecole Polytechnique (IP Paris) and Director of Energy4Climate

On September 2nd, 2026 4 min reading time

The impact of global warming is exacerbating strains on the French power grid.

Alain Karsenty_VF

Biodiversity credits and certificates: what's the difference?

Alain Karsenty, Economist and Researcher at Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement (Cirad)

On September 2nd, 2026 4 min reading time

Europe is falling behind, can it pick up the pace on innovation?

Philippe Aghion, Nobel Prize in Economics 2025, Professor at Collège de France, London School of Economics, and INSEAD

On July 1st, 2026 8 min reading time

Faced with its economic lag, Europe must promote innovation and harness the potential of AI.

Neither alive nor dead: disembodied human brains put to use in medicine

Pierre-Marie Lledo, Research Director at CNRS, Head of Department at Institut Pasteur, and Member of the European Academy of Sciences

On July 1st, 2026 4 min reading time

Bexorg is developing BrainEx, a system that maintains isolated brains to improve drug testing.

Photo G CARNE_itw

Cadmium in food: true, false, uncertain

Géraldine Carne, Toxicologist and Scientific Project Manager in the Food Risk Assessment Unit at ANSES, Yann Le Bodo, Project Manager in the Social Sciences, Economics, and Society Division (DiSSES) at ANSES, Sébastien Denys, Agricultural Engineer, Director of Health, Environment, and Occupational Safety at Santé publique France, Thibault Sterckeman, Research Engineer at INRAE, researcher at the Sols & Environnement laboratory at the University of Lorraine

On July 1st, 2026 5 min reading time

Chips Act: can Europe catch up in the global semiconductor race?

Pascal Vivet, Ph.D. from the Grenoble Institute of Technology and researcher at CEA-Leti on the technology co-optimization program (design, silicon component partitioning)

On June 23rd, 2026 7 min reading time

With the Chips Act adopted in 2023, Europe aims to strengthen its industrial capabilities in semiconductors.

The reproducibility crisis: is science deceiving us?

Florian Naudet, Psychiatrist, Professor of Clinical Medicine at Université de Rennes, and Senior Member of the Institut Universitaire de France, Thomas Rhys Evans, Psychologist and Lecturer in Occupational Psychology and Open Research at the University of Greenwich, Larry Vernon Hedges, Professor of Statistics and Data Science, Education and Social Policy, Psychology, and Medical Social Sciences at Northwestern University

On June 23rd, 2026 6 min reading time

Numerous studies have shown that researchers’ cognitive biases, particularly preconceptions, can influence their results.

Yao Amedokpo_VF

Wired for change? Road transport electrification across the Global South

Yao Amedokpo, Research Fellow at the LVMT Laboratory at École nationale des ponts et chaussées (IP Paris), Manon Eskenazi, Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development, and Research Fellow at the City, Mobility, and Transportation Laboratory (LVMT) at the École nationale des ponts et chaussées (IP Paris)

On June 23rd, 2026 4 min reading time

Behind every algorithm: the unseen workers powering AI

Antonio Casilli, Sociologist, Professor at Télécom Paris (IP Paris), and Research Associate at the Minderoo Centre for Democracy and Technology, University of Cambridge

On June 17th, 2026 5 min reading time

AI training relies human work, many are underpaid and vulnerable workers who keep systems running on a day-to-day basis.

Beyond rationality: what happens when emotion drives geopolitics?

Dominique Moïsi, Geopolitical Analyst and Founding Member of the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI)

On June 17th, 2026 4 min reading time

Emotions have been largely overlooked in geopolitical analyses, yet their role in shaping state behaviour continues to grow.

Eric Guilyardi_VF

Should there be limits to academic freedom?

Éric Guilyardi, Climatologist, CNRS Research Director and Member of the Pierre-Simon Laplace Institute

On June 17th, 2026 3 min reading time

How governments are weaponising the private sector

Cornelia Woll, Professor of International Political Economy at the Hertie School

On June 11th, 2026 6 min reading time

Current geopolitical tensions are increasingly manifesting themselves within the structures of the global economy, through supply chains, digital infrastructure, and more.

The birth of academic freedom in the United States

Hervé Dumez, Emeritus CNRS Research Director and Professor at Ecole Polytechnique (IP Paris)

On June 11th, 2026 2 min reading time

Academic freedom also protects universities as institutions, particularly in their right to decide who teaches, what is taught, and how.

Sophie Lavaux_VF

Crisis management: how to ensure trust in these critical AI systems

Sophie Lavaux, Executive Director of safe.brussels and Crisis Management Coordinator for Brussels, Yohann Garcia, Director of Data/AI Programs at Ecole Polytechnique Executive Education

On June 11th, 2026 5 min reading time

Who trusts science? A worldwide diagnosis across 68 countries

Claudia Teran-Escobar, Lecturer in Applied Social Psychology at Université Paris Nanterre

On June 1st, 2026 5 min reading time

In 2025, the largest survey ever conducted on trust in scientists was published, and its findings challenge some common misconceptions.

When markets feed on limits: tariffs, monopolies, and the logic of scarcity

Arnaud Orain, Research Director at École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS)

On June 1st, 2026 7 min reading time

Capitalism in the age of finitude is based on the idea that the pie cannot grow for everyone.

Matthieu Vandamme_VF

Beyond low-carbon materials: a broader approach to cutting emissions

Matthieu Vandamme, Professor at École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées (IP Paris)

On June 1st, 2026 4 min reading time

Cryptography: a computer scientist and a quantum physicist win the Turing Award

Gilles Brassard, Professor of Computer Science at the University of Montreal

On May 27th, 2026 4 min reading time

Their work has had an impact on algorithm design, the development of fault-tolerant quantum computers, and more.

Jean Langlois-Berthelot_VF

Bloch's Mirror: how a 1940 defeat illuminates modern cognitive warfare

Jean Langlois-Berthelot, Doctor in Applied Mathematics and Former Researcher at Ecole Polytechnique (IP Paris)

On May 27th, 2026 4 min reading time
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π Planet π Science and technology

Biodiversity: understanding nature to preserve it better

Episode 1 / 7
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Biodiversity credits and certificates: what's the difference?

Alain Karsenty, Economist and Researcher at Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le dé...

Episode 2 / 7

Agroecology: the path to agricultural biodiversity

Denis Couvet, President of the Foundation for Research on Biodiversity and Professor at Muséum National d'Histoire...

Episode 3 / 7

Environmental DNA: how to track biodiversity “barcodes”

Tania Louis, PhD in biology and Columnist at Polytechnique Insights

Episode 4 / 7

Between the buildings: wildlife in the urban landscape

Benoit Pisanu, Ecology Researcher at MNHN

Episode 5 / 7

Rewilding, a new approach to protecting biodiversity

Clémentine Mutillod, PhD Student at the Mediterranean Institute of Biodiversity and Ecology at Avignon Université , Simon Chollet, Lecturer at Université de Rennes

Episode 6 / 7

Compiling soundscapes to study global biodiversity

Kevin Darras, INRAE Researcher in Forest Ecosystems (EFNO)

Episode 7 / 7

The risks of releasing genetically modified animals into the environment

Virginie Courtier-Orgogozo, CNRS Research Director and Associate Professor of Biology at Ecole Polytechnique (IP Paris)

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