Things that make you love and hate the 4IR.
- Bhavna Pithamber
- Sep 9, 2019
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 14, 2019
Autonomous production and evolving technology are what brought about the term “Fourth Industrial Revolution” (4IR). Keywords like “Internet of Things” (IoT) offer self-managing machinery, that can be used in manufacturing, and smart products that can be adapted to various needs and wants. Majority of 4IR have not yet been recognised - yet. Firms with the vision to be on top of the fierce international market need to consider how they can benefit from and contribute towards the “Industry 4.0”.
What is the 4IR?
Davies (2016) from the World Economic Forum explains that :
“The First Industrial Revolution is widely taken to be the shift from our reliance on animals, human effort and biomass as primary sources of energy to the use of fossil fuels and the mechanical power this enabled”.
Through digitisation and trends like IoT, Virtual Reality (VR) and Artificial Reality (AR), the way people live and work are being changed.
This video by Deloitte (2017) explains Mixed Reality (a combination of AR and VR) and its link with IoT. They also show how these trends are used in the workplace, which is a good example of the contribution towards the 4IR.
What can be gained from the 4IR?
Dimitrieska, Stankovska, & Efremova (2018) listed higher productivity, creation of new jobs and knowledge replacing manual work as some of the benefits of 4IR.
Higher Productivity - 4IR would be able to digitally analyse a process or system which can help firms reassess their operations to boost productivity, It also offers people more efficient ways to do tasks and performs menial tasks for them. This can help them declutter their task schedule and focus on the higher priority tasks, which boosts productivity.
New job creation – 4IR will help create more meaningful jobs.
Knowledge replaces manual work - Dimitrieska et al. (2018) explained that through 4IR, firm will be able to make better decisions because they will have the information from smart machinery. This will replace the manual work that would be needed to collect this information, like someone recording everything about a specific mahine at a particular site.
The negatives of 4IR
Davies (2016) lists inequality, security and identity as some of the negative effects from the 4IR.
− Inequality – This involves the cost of 4IR. The people who can afford 4IR will adopt 4IR, whilst the others will not. This will create a major inequality. Not everyone will be able to access 4IR innovations, even if it is something that will benefit them. Also, 4IR relies on the internet. Many parts of the world do not have good internet coverage and speed (Minah, 2018), and this might hinder the effectiveness of the technology.
− Security – Inequality can negatively affect productivity, trust and mental health. This can cause communities to segregate themselves from other because of their position. Davies (2016) explains that this can lead to war and other negative consequences for people. 4IR itself can be used in war and terrorism.
− Identity - Davies (2016) focuses on the loss of interaction with the world. People could become too dependent on these devices. Davies (2016) also explores the thought of biomedical advancements, and how it would affect humans in the future.
4IR offers ease of use, higher productivity and efficiency which is why many firms are adopting its technologies. 4IR has not reached its’ true potential. Current infrastructure is insufficient for the 4IR. Thus, it may be a long time for Industry 4.0 to be introduced in its glory.
References
Davies, N. (2016). What is the fourth industrial revolution? Retrieved September 9, 2019, from World Economic Forum website: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/what-is-the-fourth-industrial-revolution/
Deloitte. (2017). Tech Trends 2017: Mixed reality: AR, VR, and IoT collide. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9AWCndW_n4
Dimitrieska, S., Stankovska, A., & Efremova, T. (2018). The Fourth Industrial Revolution - advantages and disadvantages. Economics and Management, 15(2), 182–187. Retrieved from http://em.swu.bg/images/SpisanieIkonomikaupload/Spisanieikonomika2018/THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION-ADVANTAGES AND.pdf
Minah, M. (2018). Are There Countries Without Internet Access? Retrieved September 9, 2019, from WorldAtlas website: https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/are-there-countries-without-internet-access.html
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