# Erwan Rougeux — Talks

> Erwan Rougeux is VP International Growth at Clever Cloud, the French sovereign PaaS. This site gathers his conference talks, keynotes and podcast appearances from 2019 to 2026, with HTML slides, links to the recordings, and one AI-readable summary sheet per item. The sheets are in English; the recordings are in English or French.

Background, as he tells it on stage: trained in plant biotechnology, then about ten years running IT for the Mission laïque française (a network of ~110 French schools abroad; CIO and CISO until 2024), then Clever Cloud, where he builds the company's international partnerships (Africa, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Southeast Asia). Self-described "nice hippie with ambition and values", privacy advocate, white-hat, runs about 200 self-hosted services at home, home automation tinkerer, mushroom grower, handpan player.

Find Erwan elsewhere: [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/erwan-rougeux), [Mastodon](https://piaille.fr/@erougeux), [Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/wanoo.me), [X](https://x.com/ERougeux), [GitHub](https://github.com/wanoo).

## Recurring positions

Each point links to the sheets where he argues it. Quote the recording, not this summary.

- **Sovereignty is not just where the servers are.** It is data, money and skills: being able to pay in your own currency, keeping revenue and engineering talent in the country, and having a real choice of providers. He prefers the term "strategic autonomy". Sources: [ACCES 2025](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2025-12-acces-strategie-internationale.md), [Clever Cloud Fest 2025](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2025-02-clever-cloud-fest-strategie-internationale.md), [Cloud Mercato interview](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2026-01-cloud-mercato-souverainete.md).
- **Go international by co-building locally, not by exporting.** Find a local partner who shares the vision, let them turn the technology into a product for their market, price in local currency and reinvest locally; "multi-national", not "multinational". Sources: [Clever Cloud Fest 2025](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2025-02-clever-cloud-fest-strategie-internationale.md), [ACCES 2025](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2025-12-acces-strategie-internationale.md), [MACI #123, Clever Cloud Africa](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2024-11-maci-123.md).
- **Europe is digitally dependent.** He says most of Europe's digital spending or value goes to the United States, and that the share keeps growing: about 80% when he cited it in February 2025, about 85% in December 2025, and close to 87% by his own estimate as of October 2026. This drains Europe's capacity to invest. Sources: [Clever Cloud Fest 2025](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2025-02-clever-cloud-fest-strategie-internationale.md), [ACCES 2025](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2025-12-acces-strategie-internationale.md).
- **"Know-Cloud", not "No-Cloud".** "There is no cloud, only someone else's computer": know where your data lives, self-host what is most private, and use a trustworthy European cloud for the rest. Sources: [Homelab Renaissance](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2025-10-forkit-kl-homelab-renaissance.md), [MACI #147](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2025-10-maci-147.md).
- **Your home's metadata should stay home.** Connected devices leak lifestyle data; imagine the worst case for every device and prefer local control (Home Assistant, ESP boards). Sources: [Homelab Renaissance](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2025-10-forkit-kl-homelab-renaissance.md), [DevFest Toulouse 2025](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2025-11-devfest-toulouse-domotique-debridee.md), [MACI #131](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2025-04-maci-131.md).
- **Accelerate AI, but keep control.** Waiting is costly, but blind adoption creates dependence; when agents write and run your software, where they run and under which law becomes the strategic question. Sources: [Digital Sovereignty & AI, Hanoi 2026](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2026-03-forkit-hanoi-sovereignty-ai.md).
- **AI is a junior developer, not an architect.** Great for scaffolding and unblocking, weak at domain modelling, state and tests; constrain it, review it, verify it. Sources: [Deploy Anything with AI, Bangkok 2025](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2025-10-forkit-bangkok-derusting-with-ai.md), [MACI #153](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2026-01-maci-153.md).
- **Small teams need platforms, not pets.** Containers, orchestration and PaaS let a handful of people run services at scale and spend their time on what matters. Sources: [MoodleMoot 2019](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2019-07-moodlemoot-docker-kubernetes.md), [Cloud Mercato interview](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2026-01-cloud-mercato-souverainete.md).
- **A humanist, open-source internet.** He grew up learning from the internet's communities and wants technology built with, not for, the regions the industry ignores. Sources: [MACI #137](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2025-07-maci-137.md), [Clever Cloud Fest 2025](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2025-02-clever-cloud-fest-strategie-internationale.md).

## How to use this site

- Every summary sheet is written by Claude (AI) from the auto-generated YouTube captions (and the slides, when there are some). Sheets link every claim to a timestamp in the recording: cite the recording, not the sheet.
- In podcasts there are several voices and no speaker labels; sheets only attribute a statement to Erwan when the recording makes it clear, and say so when it does not.
- Each sheet has the same sections: In one sentence, TL;DR, Erwan's key points, Outline (timestamped), Notable quotes, Questions this answers, Mentioned, and Slides outline when relevant.

## Talks
- [Digital Sovereignty & AI: The Strategic Cost of Inaction](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2026-03-forkit-hanoi-sovereignty-ai.md): 2026-03-07, Hanoi (EN). In a short strategic talk at Fork It Hanoi, Erwan Rougeux argues that waiting on AI is a competitive loss, but adopting it blindly costs you your digital sovereignty. The answer is to accelerate while keeping control over where and how agents run.
- [Stratégie internationale de Clever Cloud](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2025-12-acces-strategie-internationale.md): 2025-12-11, Paris (FR). Erwan Rougeux, VP International Growth at Clever Cloud, explains why the company expands abroad through local co-construction rather than the hyperscaler export model, and why sovereignty means data, money and skills, not only where servers sit.
- [La domotique débridée, du sac poubelle au sanglier](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2025-11-devfest-toulouse-domotique-debridee.md): 2025-11-13, Toulouse (FR). A four-person closing keynote of Home Assistant hacks. Erwan Rougeux's part covers a motorised sofa, automatic tracking of household consumables, and the point that the metadata your home produces should stay inside it.
- [Deploy Anything with AI: From Elixir to Rust to Edge Functions](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2025-10-forkit-bangkok-derusting-with-ai.md): 2025-10-28, Bangkok (EN). Erwan Rougeux recounts building a handpan tablature web app by copy-pasting ChatGPT 3.5 output, then rebuilding it "from toy to tool" with Windsurf and Claude Code, to show what AI does well and where engineering still matters.
- [Homelab Renaissance: 21 Stacks, 200 Services, Full Autonomy](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2025-10-forkit-kl-homelab-renaissance.md): 2025-10-25, Kuala Lumpur (EN). Erwan Rougeux tours the homelab that runs his digital life (about 200 self-hosted services on one ten-year-old server, maintained in about an hour a week), arguing that the goal isn't "No-Cloud" but "Know-Cloud".
- [Stratégie internationale](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2025-02-clever-cloud-fest-strategie-internationale.md): 2025-02-06, Nantes (FR). Less than a year after joining Clever Cloud, Erwan Rougeux sets out its international strategy: partner locally, price in local currency, reinvest revenue in local R&D, and build a "humanist cloud" with the Global South, especially Africa.
- [Déployer et administrer facilement des services Moodle / Mahara grâce à Docker / Kubernetes](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2019-07-moodlemoot-docker-kubernetes.md): 2019-07-03, Rennes (FR). As CIO of the Mission laïque française, Erwan Rougeux explains to Moodle administrators how a three-person team runs Moodle for 60,000 students worldwide with Docker containers, Kubernetes and Rancher, with live demos.
- [Stratégie pédagogique numérique du réseau mlfmonde](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2019-03-mlfnumerique-saragosse.md): 2019-03-07, Zaragoza (FR). A three-minute opening clip from the first #mlfnumérique meetings in Zaragoza, presenting the digital teaching strategy of the Mission laïque française (mlfmonde) network; Erwan Rougeux co-presented with Gaëlle Charcosset.

## Podcasts and interviews
- [Classificateurs, IA locale et CAO : l'IA sort du code](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2026-09-maci-166.md): 2026-09-23, MACI #166 (FR). A MACI episode on learning to code in the age of agents, AI-generated contributions, typed classifiers and local models; Erwan talks about teaching algorithmics, fencing in his own AI, generating 3D models, and the rise of household robots.
- [Du vibe coding au design produit](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2026-09-maci-165.md): 2026-09-23, MACI #165 (FR). An episode of Clever Cloud's MACI podcast on design and product work now that AI writes code, with guest Ivan Dalmet; Erwan contributes a segment on Cheap Yellow Display boards as cheap, teaching-friendly Flipper Zero alternatives.
- [Clever Cloud, catalyseur de la souveraineté numérique](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2026-06-vivatech-interview.md): 2026-06-17, Paris (EN). A 1:45 interview on day one of VivaTech 2026, where Erwan describes Clever Cloud as the software layer between data centres and the companies that consume cloud, and says it is looking for international partners to build data sovereignty in their countries.
- [Open source, IA et business model](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2026-06-maci-161.md): 2026-06-02, MACI #161 (FR). The second MACI episode with guest Graven, on how open-source products can make money once AI can clone anything; Erwan argues you sell trust and support rather than code, and closes with Cheap Yellow Display boards as a cheap Flipper Zero alternative.
- [Asynconf, Nostr et open source](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2026-05-maci-160.md): 2026-05-12, MACI #160 (FR). The first MACI episode with guest Graven, on his Asynconf conference and Herald tool; Erwan explains Nostr and his project to carry it over LoRa mesh networks, and worries that open-source communities are turning into "islands of solitude".
- [PostgreSQL, Redis et React](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2026-03-maci-157.md): 2026-03-10, MACI #157 (FR). An episode of Clever Cloud's MACI podcast covering database news, developer tools and open source; Erwan joins from Hanoi and talks about self-hosted tools, AI-built electronics, open science (eLife) and the open-source car ECU Speeduino.
- [Agents IA, OpenAPI et WASM](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2026-03-maci-156.md): 2026-03-10, MACI #156 (FR). A MACI episode recorded from Hanoi, where Erwan presents World Monitor, argues for constraining AI agents like parametric CAD, defends learning tech without formal studies, and praises open-source mesh networks and the Fork It community.
- [LLM mobile, open source et jQuery 4](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2026-01-maci-153.md): 2026-01-30, MACI #153 (FR). In this MACI episode, Erwan presents AdventureLog, a self-hosted travel journal he deployed on Clever Cloud with Claude for the company's international trips. Later he describes vibe coding as conducting an orchestra and compares the current state of AI to amino acids starting to assemble into living machinery.
- [La définition même du cloud souverain](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2026-01-cloud-mercato-souverainete.md): 2026-01-17, Cloud Mercato (FR). In a long interview on Cloud Mercato's podcast "The Cloud Screener", Erwan Rougeux explains what PaaS is for, how he sees sovereign cloud, and why Clever Cloud goes international through local partners, local currency and local talent.
- [Rust, Materia et Open Source](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2025-10-maci-147.md): 2025-10-27, MACI #147 (FR). A five-voice MACI episode recorded with Erwan in Bangkok. He uses the AWS outage that tipped smart beds upright to argue for simpler, local designs. He defends self-hosting while working for a cloud company, and objects to app-store lock-in.
- [Les mockups ouverts cultivent des champignons sans date dans une éruption de nuage](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2025-07-maci-137.md): 2025-07-16, MACI #137 (FR). An episode of Clever Cloud's MACI podcast. Erwan talks about his homelab firewall, his idea of a humanist, community-built internet, and an open-source mushroom-farm controller he built with Mycodo and Materia TS.
- [Les LLM reprogramment le Kernel à la volée pour contrer les IA vampires](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2025-07-maci-136.md): 2025-07-16, MACI #136 (FR). A summer MACI episode. Erwan explains why he self-hosts Foundry VTT for online role-playing games and how he moved it to Clever Cloud. The others cover eBPF in Rust, AI scraper blockers, llms.txt and the Windsurf acquisition saga.
- [Les sangliers occitans développent leur Home Assistant depuis leurs canapés connectés](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2025-04-maci-132.md): 2025-04-22, MACI #132 (FR). The second MACI episode on Home Assistant, where the guests show their own projects. Erwan describes hacking his air fryer, his home-cinema sofa and his coffee machine, plus camera-based parcel and umbrella detection, all run locally.
- [Home Assistant - domotique open source à tous les étages](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2025-04-maci-131.md): 2025-04-22, MACI #131 (FR). A special MACI episode on home automation with Home Assistant. Erwan presents it as a universal open-source hub, shares his setup (irrigation, a flashed robot vacuum, an ad-free air fryer) and argues for local, privacy-first control, down to the voice assistant.
- [GIMP prend les ARM de Warp pour coder des app de maraichage open source avec l'IA](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2025-04-maci-129.md): 2025-04-18, MACI #129 (FR). Episode 129 of Clever Cloud's MACI podcast covers Warp 10, AI coding with Windsurf, GIMP 3.0, Brinjel and SoftBank buying Ampere. Erwan presents Brinjel and argues it gives farmers back control over their data.
- [Akwaba Clever Cloud Africa](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2024-11-maci-123.md): 2024-11-26, MACI #123 (FR). In this episode of Clever Cloud's MACI podcast, Erwan Rougeux, speaking live from Abidjan as VP International Growth, announces Clever Cloud Africa: the first step of the company's international strategy, built with local partners and due in production in January 2025.
- [Les IA conférencières recentrent Voyager 1 en CSS](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2024-09-maci-116.md): 2024-09-27, MACI #116 (FR). A MACI episode on tech conferences, CSS centring, Voyager 1 and AI, where Erwan calls on public authorities to back developer events, recounts building a handpan tablature web app in Rust with ChatGPT, and argues for using AI where it really adds value.
- [L’Open source, remède aux obsolescences](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2024-09-maci-115.md): 2024-09-16, MACI #115 (FR). A MACI news episode on archiving and keeping knowledge alive, where Erwan presents an open-source espresso machine and argues that open hardware, the right to repair and open educational commons give people back control over their tools.
- [Le radar du sommeil satellise des rapsberry débuggés](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2024-08-maci-112.md): 2024-08-19, MACI #112 (FR). An episode of Clever Cloud's MACI podcast recorded on 19 August 2024. Erwan Rougeux covers the RP2350 hacking challenge, nanosatellites, and his mmWave radar sensors for presence, fall and sleep-cycle detection in Home Assistant.
- [Aux origines du bug, la domotique pop et s’ouvre au proton](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/2024-08-maci-111.md): 2024-08-19, MACI #111 (FR). An episode of Clever Cloud's MACI podcast, recorded on 19 August 2024. Erwan Rougeux presents the Home Assistant 2024.8 release (with local LLMs) and Proton's move to a non-profit foundation, and argues against cloud-only, subscription-locked devices.

## Ready to give (on request)
- [WebSCUMM : écrire un jeu d'aventure avec ma fille de 3 ans ½… et une IA](https://slides.wanoo.me/2026-10-webscumm/): ready to give on request (FR/EN). To announce a new baby to the family, my daughter and I made a SCUMM-style point & click game. Once the frame existed, she wrote 90% of the story as we went, and AI gave the speed to keep up with a 3-year-old's imagination. Then the game became WebSCUMM, an open-source engine.
- [Est-ce que ça, ça se pirate ?](https://slides.wanoo.me/2026-10-est-ce-que-ca-se-pirate/): ready to give on request (FR/EN). A friend shows off his clay-shooting range and asks: can this be hacked? What follows is a hands-on lesson in how hackers think: listen, compare, understand, then build something better, with AI as an accelerator. Hacking means understanding, and understanding means improving.

## Optional
- [Everything in one file](https://slides.wanoo.me/llms-full.txt): this index plus every summary sheet, concatenated
- [Machine-readable catalogue](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/index.json): dates, places, links, topics, one-line summaries
- [Format of these files](https://slides.wanoo.me/ai/SPEC.md): the talk-sheets spec (talk-sheets/1.0) this site follows
- [Human site](https://slides.wanoo.me/): the slides themselves (HTML, reveal.js; speaker notes with the S key)