In the past two (2) we have all been mesmerized on how much advancement has taken place in the IT industry, I am talking autonomous vehicles, virtual identities, electronic signatures, mobile banking, Internet of Things, the list is endless. In short, we stand at a precipice of a new revolution, the 4th Industrial Revolution.
Let us rewind, the 1st Industrial Revolution utilised water and steam power to run the factories into production. Then the 2nd came up with electric power to propel mass production. The 3rd brought us information technology and systems to automate production. And now the 4th Industrial Revolution (I.R 4.0) building on the 3rd, is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres.
We have three (3) reasons why today’s revolution is not merely a continuation of the 3rd Industrial Revolution, because firstly, there is a difference in velocity, speed and scope on systems impact. Industry is been disrupted in almost all sectors and parts of the world. Secondly, this disruption has brought about a transformation in systems of production, management and governance. The possibilities of billions of users or people connected by mobile devices, with unprecedented processing power, storage capacity, and access to knowledge, are unlimited. Lastly, the possibilities of billions of users or people connected by mobile devices, with unprecedented processing power, storage capacity, and access to knowledge, are unlimited. All these possibilities are in emerging technology breakthroughs in fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, nanotechnology, biotechnology, materials science, energy transmission and storage, and quantum computing.
All these technologies are changing how governments are delivering basic services to its people in terms of e-healthcare, e-tax systems, e-education, etc. Also providing new business opportunities to small and medium enterprises hence creating new jobs, however, also replacing some jobs i.e. autonomous vehicles do not need a human driver that’s one job less. For example; How technology is changing our society for better or worse (BlazeTV, 2018), see this video.
References
BlazeTV, (2018), “How technology is changing society for better or worse” Accessed on 17 Feb 2019: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDlK9f7zHo4
Miyoba Sichimwi 