The INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
CHIRAG KANTHARIA (2001)
KARAN MISTRY (1957)
Building on the widespread availability of digital technologies that were the
result of the Third Industrial, or Digital, Revolution, the Fourth Industrial
Revolution will be driven largely by the convergence of digital, biological, and
physical innovations.
It’s important to appreciate that the Fourth Industrial Revolution involves a
systemic change across many sectors and aspects of human life: the
crosscutting impacts of emerging technologies are even more important than
the exciting capabilities they represent. Our ability to edit the building blocks
of life has recently been massively expanded by low-cost gene sequencing and
techniques such as CRISPR; artificial intelligence is augmenting processes and
skill in every industry; neurotechnology is making unprecedented strides in
how we can use and influence the brain as the last frontier of human biology;
automation is disrupting century-old transport and manufacturing paradigms;
and technologies such as blockchain and smart materials are redefining and
blurring the boundary between the digital and physical worlds.
The result of all this is societal transformation at a global scale. By affecting
the incentives, rules, and norms of economic life, it transforms how we
communicate, learn, entertain ourselves, and relate to one another and how
we understand ourselves as human beings. Furthermore, the sense that new
technologies are being developed and implemented at an increasingly rapid
pace has an impact on human identities, communities, and political
structures. As a result, our responsibilities to one another, our opportunities
for self-realization, and our ability to positively impact the world are
intricately tied to and shaped by how we engage with the technologies of the
Fourth Industrial Revolution. This revolution is not just happening to us—we
are not its victims—but rather we have the opportunity and even responsibility
to give it structure and purpose.
As economists Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee have pointed out, this
revolution could yield greater inequality, particularly in its potential to disrupt
labor markets. As automation substitutes for labor across the entire economy,
the net displacement of workers by machines might exacerbate the gap
between returns to capital and returns to labor. On the other hand, it is also
possible that the displacement of workers by technology will, in aggregate,
result in a net increase in safe and rewarding jobs.
[What happens if 45 percent of all jobs are automated out of existence in the
next 20 years? Peter H. Diamandis has a few ideas.]
All previous industrial revolutions have had both positive and negative
impacts on different stakeholders. Nations have become wealthier, and
technologies have helped pull entire societies out of poverty, but the inability
to fairly distribute the resulting benefits or anticipate externalities has resulted
in global challenges. By recognizing the risks, whether cybersecurity threats,
misinformation on a massive scale through digital media, potential
unemployment, or increasing social and income inequality, we can take the
steps to align common human values with our technological progress and
ensure that the Fourth Industrial Revolution benefits human beings first and
foremost.
We cannot foresee at this point which scenario is likely to emerge from this
new revolution. However, I am convinced of one thing—that in the future,
talent, more than capital, will represent the critical factor of production.
With these fundamental transformations underway today, we have the
opportunity to proactively shape the Fourth Industrial Revolution to be both
inclusive and human-centered. This revolution is about much more than
technology—it is an opportunity to unite global communities, to build
sustainable economies, to adapt and modernize governance models, to reduce
material and social inequalities, and to commit to values-based leadership of
emerging technologies.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is therefore not a prediction of the future
but a call to action. It is a vision for developing, diffusing, and governing
technologies in ways that foster a more empowering, collaborative, and
sustainable foundation for social and economic development, built around
shared values of the common good, human dignity, and intergenerational
stewardship. Realizing this vision will be the core challenge and great
responsibility of the next 50 years.
This essay was originally published in 2018 in Encyclopædia Britannica
Anniversary Edition: 250 Years of Excellence (1768–2018).