On April 22, 2017, we organised at Espace des Sciences Pierre-Gilles de Gennes (ESPCI Paris – PSL, Paris, France) a citizen dialogue on nanotechnologies, and more specifically on the role of nanotechnologies in the field of brain-machine interfaces (BCI). The dialogue scenario included a short introduction, the building of a « future object » by pairs of participants, the production of two narratives associated to each object, and finally a reflection on values, needs, and concerns, that emerged from this work.

We had 11 participants (6 women, 5 men): three young adults, 5 adults, and 3 seniors. The role of youngsters in the exercise of building an object was essential. In fact, their imagination and their futuristic visions allowed adults and senior to let themselves free to create and imagine in the first, creative part of the workshop. In fact, at first adults were blocked in the creation of an object, using as a justification for non-acting the lack of enough knowledge and information on such technical issue. The activity was somehow hard to begin. However, once the activity started, the whole group found its role, its posture, and everyone was very engaged in producing ideas and developing his/her points of view, concerns, expectations.