What if 2025 was just a foretaste? In this new episode of Behind the Mic, Jérôme Malzac, Innovation Director at Micropole, looks back on a year 2024 marked by lightning technological acceleration - and shares his projections for the years to come.
From the emergence of agentic AI to the energy race that underlies it, via world records in nuclear fusion, he talks straightforwardly about the changes that are reshaping our uses and questioning Europe's technological sovereignty.
But this episode doesn't try to predict the future: it dissects the present, and tries to understand why decisions taken today will carry more weight than ever in the next ten years.
2024: a pivotal year for innovation
From the outset, Jérôme looks back on the frenetic pace of the past year. Robotics, intelligent materials, multi-material 3D printing... the cutting-edge fields are multiplying. And the omnipresent AI is attracting ever more attention.
"A lot of things happened in 2024 [...], but obviously the subject that was a little more trusting was AI again and again, and in particulargenerative AI."
This is a lucid assessment of the scale of the phenomenon, but the interview does not confine itself to the major trends: it also looks at the limits, the disparities in progress between geographical areas, and the outstanding energy issues.
AI becomes increasingly autonomous... and energy-hungry
Jérôme talks frankly about the rise of agentic AI. In his eyes, these models, capable of making autonomous decisions, represent a turning point. However, behind the innovation lies a more material reality: that of energy.
Recent announcements of major investments in European data centers may not be enough. The episode calls into question the continent's ability to guarantee a sustainable supply for these infrastructures, without ignoring the environmental implications of such a digital shift.
Digital sovereignty: the silent battle of innovation
Innovation is never neutral. And technological domination is often accompanied by political domination. Jérôme questions Europe's place in this shifting geography of technology: in the current context, what influence can Europe still wield?
" If we don't decide now how we want to use these technologies, others will do it for us. "
This is not just a regulatory issue. It's also economic and cultural. Who controls infrastructures? Who finances research? Who has access to data? For Jérôme, the real leverage lies in the ability to articulate values, innovation and the power to act.
Towards innovation with impact?
Where many focus on the risks, Jérôme prefers to highlight the opportunities - without embellishing them. AI in public health, energy optimization on a city scale, preventive cybersecurity thanks to predictive models... there's no shortage of concrete use cases.
But on one condition: don't let yourself be blinded by fascination. Behind every technological promise lie systemic effects. Digital exclusion, ethical abuses, resource depletion, concentration of power...
" In 2035, either we'll have implemented regulated AI, driven by our models... or we'll be watching what others have decided for us. "
It's not a slogan. It's an invitation to build controlled - and desirable - innovation, starting now.
And tomorrow?
As the podcast progresses, projections take shape: what will our tools look like in 2030? What role will Europe play in a world dominated by American and Asian giants?
The episode ends on a lucid and stimulating note: what is at stake today is much more than a technical debate. It's a systemic, economic, energy and cultural revolution. And if certain trajectories remain unclear, one thing is certain: the transformation has only just begun.
Because if 2025 is speeding up, it's not just because technology is going faster. It's because the world can't wait any longer. So we have to decide. And above all, we have to decide together.
