Automation, Internet of Things, Genetic engineering, cloud computing, renewable energy, sustainable development. Welcome to the Future. Welcome to the 4th Industrial revolution.
Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum published the ‘The Fourth Industrial Revolution’. Through this he explained its impact on economies, countries, politics and even ideologies. The fourth industrial revolution focuses on making our industries more productive with automation cloud computing and IoT, shying away from fossil fuels and making super-soldiers (through genetic engineering!). That last one is questionable though…
Genetic engineering will help us in not only rectifying defective genes, but also opens up a possibility to make the new generation more Charles-Darwin-‘fit’. With the onset of technologies like CRISPR, it is exciting and apprehensive of what could happen in the future.
Automation, IoT and cloud computing collectively will help in making every aspect of our lives more comfortable*. From household to industries, robots will replace human labour and intervention and give us freedom from the concept of work and let us choose our real passions. Elon Musk rightly said that automation will force governments to give a universal basic income.
Finally we come to sustainable development. In the future, there will be a stronger force towards renewable energy and undo the effects of climate change and mass extinctions, making this planet a better place (although the fourth industrial also focuses on cheaper space exploration technologies and colonization, so we are good either way!!).
There is a lot of heated debate about the effects of the fourth industrial revolution. This means that there is going to be some serious strategic changes for economists, politicians and top businessmen
Leave it to them for the decision making. But no matter what, the fourth industrial revolution is happening and it’s happening fast! Your opinion is not going to stop it. So what does the fourth industrial revolution mean for engineers and scientists? It’s simple, it means that we have a lot of work to do!
We are in a race very much like the space-race between Russia and USA had. We need to come up with innovative and profound technologies as soon as possible. We need to make it affordable, accessible and original. Like every other industrial revolution, this will be a game changer for the world.
So in two words… Carpe Diem!
THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOULTION
Coming soon…
*unless the robots take over and a scene from the Terminator becomes a reality
