Fourth Industrial Revolution: Boon or Bane

The hype surrounding the Fourth Industrial Revolution cannot be understated. Everyone seems to be talking about it but still don’t know the impact of it on our daily life.

The speed at which fourth industrial revolution is spreading because of the presence of high-end technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Deep Learning and Machine Learning and on top of that global connectivity, it is going to have a major impact compared to its predecessors.

The First Industrial Revolution used water and steam power to mechanize production. The Second used electric power to create mass production. The Third used electronics and information technology to automate production. Now a Fourth Industrial Revolution is building on the Third, the digital revolution that has been occurring since the middle of the last century. It is characterized by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres.

Business Impact

It will be interesting to see how businesses and private corporations are going to match up to the speed of fourth industrial revolution. In today’s relentless competition the companies need to figure out how they can do things better compared to their competitor’s and that too for a sustainable period of time, so that they can easily withstand headwinds.

It is very easy to get pleased and complacent because of the revenue predictions these new technologies are suggesting but there has to be a check to identify projections vs reality. It will be challenging for companies to scale up these technological projects and have an impact at an enterprise level.

Workforce Impact

Given the exponential nature of disruptive technology it becomes very challenging and as a matter of fact mandatory for companies to upskill their workforce. Because of these technological advancements and so called “Automations” we have seen a rapid increase in layoffs.

Companies are trying their best to improve their bottom-line by using automation to reduce the expenses on manpower. There has to be an alignment between the company and workforce strategy, otherwise it might backfire in the long run. Companies have to articulate clearly to its employees its vision and future plans and also provides them proper training platforms.

Collaboration

I think it’s high time we need to find a solution where we find a middle path which works in favor of both humans and technology. The use of technology should be to raise the level of economic and social living not to make people jobless. I think this is where even government intervention is important to come up with plans and mass programs to hone the skills of people who doesn’t have means, guidance and resources to upskill themselves.

Reference: 1
Image Credits: 1, 2, 3

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Let me know what you guys think about Fourth Industrial Revolution is it a Boon or Bane?

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