Bernard Stiegler

Bernard Stiegler (1952–2020) was a French philosopher and media theorist. He directed IRCAM, the Institute for Acoustic and Musical Research, in Paris and, from 2006, headed the Department of Cultural Development at the Centre Georges-Pompidou. Earlier, he was, among other positions, program director at the Collège international de philosophie and a professor at the University of Technology of Compiègne. Stiegler founded the Ars Industrialis conferences, which focused on the impact of new technologies on society. From 1978 to 1983, he served a prison sentence for armed robbery; he later described this experience as a formative influence on his turn toward philosophy.