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The fourth industrial revolution is here Artificial intelligence and the internet of things are beginning to change the industrial landscape – and people’s lives. Metro investigates the possible benefits and impacts of the fourth industrial revolution
The fourth industrial revolution is set to be worth US$14.2 trillion to the worldwide economy by 2030 / GETTY
DANIEL CASILLAS
Metro World News
Industry, jobs and even life as we know it are on the cusp of changing radically, thanks to the so-called fourth industrial revolution. 4IR, as it’s known, is based on cyberphysical systems that combine physical infrastructure with software, digital technology communications and the internet of things to transform traditional manufacturing plants into intelligent factories. In fact, some experts suggest that this new revolution is happening at this very moment. Klaus Schwab, founder
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VIEWS ON THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and author of “The Fourth Industrial Revolution,” explained that the first industrial revolution used steam and water energy to mechanize production, the second used electric power, the third used electronics and information to automate production, while the fourth is being built on the basis of the third with the fusion of technologies that erase the borders between the physical, digital and biological spheres. Experts say that the internet of things and artificial intelligence are the key concepts of the new industrial revolution. “The fourth industrial revolution is the next
WWW.READMETRO.COM DECEMBER 2016
Q&A NICHOLAS DAVIS Head of Society and Innovation and Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
What is the fourth industrial revolution? The fourth industrial revolution (4IR) is a way of describing how technology is changing both the world around us, and even affecting who we are as humans. It is being driven by a range of new and powerful digital, biological and physical technologies, which are disrupting industries and systems such as the way we make things, how we communicate and how we move goods and people around the world. The technologies at the heart of the 4IR include artificial intelligence, 3D printing, gene sequencing and editing, breakthrough materials, virtual, mixed and augmented reality, the blockchain, neurotechnologies and other exciting advances that promise many benefits but also create concerns. What are the benefits? The 4IR offers huge benefits, particularly in terms of helping us do dangerous, dull, dirty and difficult jobs with robots and automation. New energy technologies can give us clean, reliable sources of energy, while biotechnologies offer better and more effective ways of improving our health. Developments in brain science and in neurotechnology means that we will be able to extend our senses and enhance our capabilities, as well as better manage issues such as Alzheimer’s disease which prevent many of us from living life to the full.
stage of rewiring our human evolution, says Craig Zamary, a serial entrepreneur and professor of Entrepreneurship at Kent State University. “The fourth industrial revolution is the newest chapter in our human history that involves unlocking the unused potential of our brains through uses of artificial intelligence, digital, virtual, big data and a system that introduces a new story of our future to enable different economic and human models that will change the way we exist forever.” According to a report by Accenture, an international agency specializing in technology and digitization, the fourth industrial revolution,
also called the industrial internet of things will add up to US$14.2 trillion to the worldwide economy by 2030. An analysis by Morgan Stanley estimates that the industrial internet of things currently comprises a US$42 billion market and it has the potential to grow at a 15 per cent to 18 per cent compound annual growth rate through 2020. Meanwhile research from the technology research company Gartner estimates that 6.4 billion connected things will be in use worldwide in 2016 and will reach 20.8 billion by 2020. In addition to the economic benefits, this new industrial revolution is expected to offer positive impacts in
terms of work, science and even medicine. “The benefits of this revolution will be enormous. Driverless cars alone could save tens of thousands of lives each year. Smart machines could automate lots of jobs in fields like education and medicine, which would help to bring down costs. At the same time, the new analytical tools available to researchers could lead to advances across scientific fields,
Impact on government
Happening right now
The impact on jobs
The impact on lives
“As the physical, digital, and biological worlds continue to converge, new technologies and platforms will increasingly enable citizens to engage with governments, voice their opinions, coordinate their efforts, and even circumvent the supervision of public authorities”
“While your readers are reading this, there are people in their garages, basements, classrooms, incubators and companies discovering solutions to problems that involve food, climate, security, disease and heathcare. And many are using artificial intelligence to work alongside them to speed the delivery of these breakthroughs”
“Like the industrial revolution, the digital revolution will be hugely disruptive to economies and to the lives of workers. Changing technology seems to be increasing the economic power of highly skilled workers, like top engineers and entrepreneurs. It is reducing the economic power of the rest of the workforce, however”
Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF)
Craig Zamary, a serial entrepreneur and professor of Entrepreneurship at Kent State University
Ryan Avent, economics columnist and author of the book ‘The Wealth of Humans: Work and its Absence in the Twenty-first Century’
“It’s feasible to assume that one day we will all work far fewer hours as robots and AI take over the routine tasks that so many of us do currently. Productivity will sky rocket and the costs of goods and services will plummet allowing us to live in a world of abundance. We will see diseases and illnesses cured”
How is digitization affecting our lives and work right now? Today, it’s not so much the existence of digital networks of communication, or the ability
Jacob Morgan, best-selling author, speaker, and futurist.
to store and process information which is affecting us, but the fact that these things are so accessible for many people, which means that we can take them for granted and build things like text and voice recognition, which is really a form of artificial intelligence. In the near future we can expect the wave of digitization to continue with digital technologies becoming increasingly integrated into our daily lives. Has the fourth industrial revolution already begun? The 4IR is a story of how our economic, social and political systems are changing and will change as new technologies develop and emerge, building on the digital revolution. We’re still at the beginning of this transition, and many of the most exciting and troubling advances in science and technology are still being developed and tested in labs around the world. What are the main challenges for the fourth industrial revolution? A key challenge is making sure that we continue to foster the conditions that allow innovation and entrepreneurship to flourish around the world. It is important to remember that there are still more than four billion people who don’t have access to the internet – these people have yet to experience the digital revolution, let alone the 4IR. And there are around 2.4 billion people without access to safe drinking water and sanitation, as well as 1.2 billion people without access to electricity. We need to be working to extend the current benefits of digitisation and the coming benefits of 4IR to those populations, and ensure that people around the world aren’t just able to access new technologies, but can be designers and creators and empowered users, shaping new technologies to their particular needs.
from energy to medicine to social science”, said Ryan Avent economics columnist and author of the book ‘The Wealth of Humans: Work and its Absence in the Twenty-first Century’. However, there are fears that a greater automation of industry and a greater presence of artificial intelligence could lead to a loss of jobs, and even greater social inequality. “The discussions around income inequality are of special concern here as well since some believe the fourth industrial revolution could create more income inequality,” explained Jacob Morgan, best-selling author, speaker, and futurist. With the fourth industrial revolution’s momentum set to increase, it’s up to industry, governments and society to ready themselves for the inevitable changes. Nicholas Davis, Head of Society and Innovation and member of the executive committee of the World Economic Forum, explained: “Probably the most important challenge facing the fourth industrial revolution is ensuring that it is human-centred and driven by positive values.”