Dig.ni.fy Winter Issue - January 2024 | Page 93

born into a world of extreme automation and connectivity. In defense of this claim, a person need only realize that, in 2016, the same year as Parag Khanna published his book,

Connectivity,3 UBS issued a white paper for the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting

2016, entitled Extreme automation and connectivity. In that paper, UBS argued the world had entered a Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Basically, the fourth industrial revolution evolved in the following way. The First Industrial Revolution started in 1784 and revolved around mechanical production and steam power energy – introducing early automation ‘through machinery and boosted intra-national connections through the building of bridges and highways.’Tthe Second Industrial Revolution started in 1870 and revolved around mass production and electrical energy — ‘enabling mass production and fostering more efficient, productive connectivity via the division of labor.’ The Third Industrial Revolution started in 1969 and revolved around electronics and information technology (IT) – which ‘was propelled by the rise of the digital age, of more sophisticated automation and of increasing connectivity between and within humanity and the natural world.’ And now, today, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which revolves around artificial intelligence, robotics, and big data is being ‘driven by extreme automation and interconnectivity’ which will result in ‘the wider implementation of artificial intelligence.’

This fourth revolution is effectively based upon two factors: The first is extreme automation, the product of a growing role for robotics and artificial intelligence in business, government, and private life. The second factor, extreme connectivity annihilates distance and time as obstacles to ever deeper, faster communication between and among humans and machines.

The result will be three-fold:

1)“Flexibility” will be key to success in the Fourth Industrial Revolution – economies with the most flexible labor markets, educational systems, infrastructure, and legal systems are likely to be relative beneficiaries.

2)Developed economies are likely to be relative winners at this stage, whereas developing economies face greater challenges as their abundance of low skill labor ceases to be an advantage and becomes more of a headwind.

3)Emerging markets in their demographic prime may find that extreme automation displaces low skill workers, but that their limited technology infrastructures do not allow them to reap the full benefits of extreme connectivity.

Given these findings, one can only conclude:

The global economy is on the cusp of profound changes that are comparable in magnitude to the advent of the first industrial revolution, the development of assembly line production, or the invention of the micro-chip. Technological advances are permitting ever greater levels of automation. Meanwhile, the near universal ownership of smart devices in many parts of the world is leading to a degree of interconnectedness that was previously unimaginable.

Generation Alpha, who have had digital technologies at their disposal since primary school and who have integrated technology singularly into their lives, will expect such technologies and capacity be made available to them when entering higher education.

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