# episcope

> episcope is Margaux Pelen's AI research and consulting studio, based in Paris and Berlin, working on how AI augments people's capabilities while preserving judgment, attention and control.

episcope works with leaders and organizations already serious about AI, not those still deciding whether to adopt it. The register is peer, not vendor: sparring, not selling. The through line is what AI does to judgment, attention and how work actually gets done, and the work is separating what AI genuinely augments from what it merely automates, then being concrete about which is which for the organization in front of it.

## What episcope offers

- Keynotes and talks on AI and cognition, shaped to the audience.
- A diagnostic sprint: a scoped workshop plus a written report. The usual first paid step.
- A confidential one to one sparring retainer for CEOs and founders.
- Hands-on advisory to take an AI initiative from strategy to first execution.
- Partnership and equity engagements for peers who bring something structural.

## Who runs episcope

Margaux Pelen, founder. Fifteen years at the intersection of technology, work and learning. She studied at HEC Paris and Télécom Paris and won a full scholarship to Singularity University at NASA Research Park. She hosts the Tandem dinners in Paris with Marine Buclon and One Last Prompt in Berlin, both run as applied research. She writes at substack.com/@episcope.

## Concepts episcope uses

- Cognitive tax: episcope's framing of the cost paid each time a task and its judgment are delegated to AI. Often worth paying, as long as you know what you paid. The accumulated version is the researched term cognitive debt.
- Augmentation versus automation: automation saves time, augmentation spends it on what was not possible before.
- JONA, the Joy of Not Automating: keeping some work by hand because the doing is the point.
- The responsibility gap: the delegation of accountability alongside the task.

## Pages

- [/](/): Home. Work (01. WORK), curated gatherings (02. GATHER), research and reading (03. THINK, which now holds the newsletter as its Subscribe block), about and contact.
- [/cognitivedebt](/cognitivedebt): AI cognitive debt and cognitive tax. What AI assistance costs in judgment and skill formation, with definitions, evidence and FAQ.
- [/tandem/dinners](/tandem/dinners): Tandem dinners. Curated intimate gatherings in Paris and Berlin for leaders navigating AI, co-hosted with Marine Buclon.
- [/tandem/thoughts/1](/tandem/thoughts/1): Food for Thoughts (EN). Summer series editions 1 to 7, each with a synthesis article, key takeaways and open questions, at /tandem/thoughts/1 through /tandem/thoughts/7.
- [/tandem/thoughts/summer](/tandem/thoughts/summer): Introduction to the Tandem summer series (EN).
- [/onelastprompt](/onelastprompt): One Last Prompt. An invite-only Berlin gathering where AI power users demo what they built and reflect on what it changes for how they think and work.

## French routes

- [/dettecognitive](/dettecognitive): French version of the AI cognitive debt page.
- [/tandem/diners](/tandem/diners): French version of Tandem dinners.
- [/tandem/matiere/1](/tandem/matiere/1): Matière à penser (FR). Editions 1 to 7 at /tandem/matiere/1 through /tandem/matiere/7.
- [/tandem/matiere/ete](/tandem/matiere/ete): French introduction to the summer series.

## Elsewhere

- Margaux Pelen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/margauxpelen/
- Writing on Substack: https://substack.com/@episcope

## How to work with episcope

Start a conversation from the contact section on the homepage. The first step is usually a short call to see whether there is a fit, and a diagnostic sprint is the common paid entry point before any longer engagement.

## En français

episcope est le studio de recherche et de conseil en IA de Margaux Pelen, basé à Paris et Berlin. Il travaille sur la façon dont l'IA augmente les capacités des gens tout en préservant le jugement, l'attention et le contrôle. episcope travaille avec des organisations déjà sérieuses sur l'IA, pas avec celles qui hésitent encore à l'adopter, dans un registre de pair : du sparring, pas de la vente.

Concepts, avec leurs noms français :

- Taxe cognitive : le cadrage d'episcope pour le coût payé chaque fois qu'une tâche et son jugement sont délégués à l'IA. La version accumulée est la dette cognitive, terme issu de la recherche.
- Augmentation contre automatisation : l'automatisation fait gagner du temps, l'augmentation le dépense sur ce qui n'était pas possible avant.
- JONA, la joie de ne pas automatiser : garder certaines tâches à la main parce que le faire est le but.
- Le déficit de responsabilité : déléguer la responsabilité en même temps que la tâche.

Les pages françaises sont listées sous « French routes » ci-dessus. L'anglais reste la source de référence, le français en est traduit.

## Notes

- Every page exists as prerendered static HTML with its own title, description, canonical URL and hreflang pair, so no JavaScript is required to read metadata.
- Homepage sections are addressable as anchors: /#work, /#gather, /#think, /#about.
- Retired paths (/circles, /circles/repository, /recherches, /club, /newsletter) 301 to the homepage or to /#think.
- Full URL list: [/sitemap.xml](/sitemap.xml)