Abstract:

In view of the potential and risks associated with digitalisation, the state faces the challenge of creating a suitable innovation policy framework that allows the technical possibilities to be fully exploited for the benefit of sustainability transformation, while at the same time limiting the risks related to the new technological paradigm. This tightrope walk requires the state to act in an entrepreneurial manner – but not only. The present chapter outlines the role of the entrepreneurial state in its mission to drive the transformation of economy and society towards sustainability, in the tension between technology and the environment. Concrete examples of social and ecological issues and ethical aspects of disruptive technological change complement this sketch.