Jacques Perriault (1938-2019). Un humaniste du XXe siècle

Jacques Perriault was a pioneer in computer science at a time it scarcely existed. A major theme that runs throughout his work is the interaction between technology and society. His thesis The logic of use. Essay on communicating machines shows the different ways in which users follow or twist the prophetic proposals of inventors. Looking at pupils as well as e-learning adults using NTIC devices, he insisted on the consequences on cognition and the risk of social fracture. He embedded his analysis of the Technology Imprint on Société in a long term history (Memories of Shadow and Sound. An Archeology of Audiovisual Devices). From this historical perspective, a forward looking vision had him involved in the creation of international standards to be negotiated and built with respect to the end users, so as to be considered as public goods. His wide- reaching intellectual curiosity and his endless transgressions of disciplinary boundaries explain his atypical career. Many researchers are grateful to him for his generosity in suggesting new perspectives while endlessly opening up new and unexpected avenues of research.