Future alchemy: account of the ESYOP experiment

'Organic Chemistry, where now?' This article reports the outcome of the first edition of ESYOP, a symposium devoted to the future of organic chemistry. The collective answer proposed to the above question has been elaborated by thirty-year-old French-speaking researchers. The challenges reported may be structured in three interdependent themes: quest for simplicity, nature as a guide, design of molecular structures capable of autonomy and adaptability. In the future, organic chemistry may be a science devoted to the synthesis of 'intelligent' molecular systems inspired by Nature by using the simplest means.