Description
Asma Mhalla is a political scientist and researcher specializing in Tech Policy, the political and geopolitical stakes of technology broadly, and Artificial Intelligence more specifically.
She is an Associate Researcher at the Laboratory of Political Anthropology (LAP, UMR 8177) of the CNRS and EHESS (École des hautes études en sciences sociales), where she is also preparing her doctorate in political studies.
Her expertise focuses on the new forms of power and influence between technology giants (Big Tech) and nation-states, as well as the question of technological sovereignty. She warns against the illegitimate political power exerted by Big Techs in the absence of a democratic mandate, advocating for a repoliticization of the technological question.
Asma Mhalla teaches at Sciences Po Paris and École Polytechnique and advises institutions on their public technology policies. Notably, she produced and hosted the well-received program "CyberPouvoirs" on France Inter during the summer of 2023.
She is the author of the essay "Technopolitique : comment la technologie fait de nous des soldats" (Technopolitics: How Technology Turns Us into Soldiers)Behind the illusion of seamless innovation lies an industrial chain of extreme complexity—built on scarce resources, massive infrastructures, and strategic battles.
In this context, CTOs hold a crucial role : they are called upon to reclaim power, to deconstruct narratives of powerlessness, and to reaffirm the place of those who actually build technology.
This talk is an invitation to understand that AI is not only a technical revolution, but also a political and industrial one. The responsibility to transform it into a true lever for action lies in their hands.
