Digital Technologies, Organization and Society

The Digital Technologies, Organization and Society (DTOS) team brings together academics from the i³ research laboratory (CNRS joint research unit 9217) within the Economics and Social Sciences department of Télécom Paris, Institut Polytechnique de Paris. The group focuses on the social and organizational effects of digital transformations and explores possible tools to regulate these changes.

The team brings together several scientific disciplines (sociology, management, law, information-communication) and relies on both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies.

Our work is carried out in the context of nationally and internationally funded projects, research chairs and partnerships with private and public actors. The research results in high-level scientific publications.

Our interdisciplinary approach allows us to address a variety of issues organized in four research themes:

Theme 1: Digital governance and regulation

We address mechanisms of governance, regulation and ethics that accompany digital technologies so as to support innovation while limiting harmful effects on individual rights and freedoms. Researchers in this area focus on topics such as the GDPR (European General Data Protection Regulation), the fight against harmful content online, the regulation of AI and platforms, « open data » initiatives, and the role of technical specifications, ethics and self-regulation in limiting digital harms.

Theme 2: Digital citizenship and participation

The work in this area focuses on online political practices, i.e., activities mediated by digital technologies that relate to institutions, participation in democratic life, or public action. Researchers in this group also study the nature of and issues related to digital rights and freedoms: inequalities of access and skills, protection of privacy, freedom of information, etc.

Theme 3: Sustainable technology and responsible digital innovation

The research conducted within this theme aims firstly to better understand the social and environmental impacts related to the permanent and ubiquitous use of digital tools. The team’s researchers are also exploring ways to positively transform digital tools to make them more in line with society’s expectations. This involves questioning the tools and their designs, as well as the uses, intended or not, that are made of them.

Theme 4: Digital transition, new business models and the future of work

All sectors, companies and workers have been affected by the digital revolution in recent years. We focus on the phenomena that have disrupted the structures and processes of many organizations and more broadly the ways of working and innovating in business. We explore topics such as micro-work platforms, the digitization of factories, the emergence of citizen projects, the collaborative economy, free software, digital entrepreneurship, strategies and organizations through the lens of technologies such as AI.