We often relate to innovation as if it could be an answer to our questions and needs. But what if innovations are actually the questions? Each advance raises an increasing number of open questions. On one side they unlock a wider range of opportunities, possibly leading to new discoveries (both at a collective and individual level). On the other side, each creative exploit can have a potentially huge impact on humans, at the cultural, societal, and psychological level. The focus of my research is twofold: the study of the exploration of the space of the unknown (in particular the so-called Adjacent Possible) and the assessment of the impact of this exploration on humans. I try to understand exploration behaviours in cultural systems, how creativity can emerge in such processes and the impact of innovations. The aim is to learn how we can use technology to “augment” our exploration and to improve our creativity.
