Vigilance and transformation. Corporal presence and responsability in the operation of technological apparatus

Summary: A description of the constraints on human agents in the operation of technological apparatus enables the author to illuminate two dimensions generally overlooked in the paradigms of action: attention-vigilance and the capacity to adapt with time. These essential capacities, without which there could be no responsible agent, determine the human agent's level of control, allowing for both routine and the invention of practical solutions in critical situations. Based on the comparison of three areas of activity (nuclear, civil aviation and road transport) in which the question of risk is central to the conception and organization of technological devices, this article shows how decisions in the work place need to come to terms with constraints of presence and responsibility.