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World-renowned economist Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, explains that we have an opportunity to shape the fourth industrial revolution, which will fundamentally alter how we live and work. Schwab argues that this revolution is different in scale, scope and complexity from any that have come before. Characterized by a range of new technologies that are fusing the physical, digital and biological worlds, the developments are affecting all disciplines, economies, industries and governments, and even challenging ideas about what it means to be human. Artificial intelligence is already all around us, from supercomputers, drones and virtual assistants to 3D printing, DNA sequencing, smart thermostats, wearable sensors and microchips smaller than a grain of sand. But this is just the beginning: nanomaterials 200 times stronger than steel and a million times thinner than a strand of hair and the first transplant of a 3D printed liver are already in development. Imagine "smart factories" in which global systems of manufacturing are coordinated virtually, or implantable mobile phones made of biosynthetic materials. The fourth industrial revolution, says Schwab, is more significant, and its ramifications more profound, than in any prior period of human history. He outlines the key technologies driving this revolution and discusses the major impacts expected on government, business, civil society and individuals. Schwab also offers bold ideas on how to harness these changes and shape a better future--one in which technology empowers people rather than replaces them; progress serves society rather than disrupts it; and in which innovators respect moral and ethical boundaries rather than cross them. We all have the opportunity to contribute to developing new frameworks that advance progress.… (more)
User reviews
The book reads like someone got really into NLP in the 80s and desperately wants you to repeat "The Fourth Industrial Revolution" in your sleep. While the negative externalities from the near future (widespread joblessness, inequality, political upheaval) are made very
Also 20% of the book is just an appendix with a series of random summaries about various promising technologies or products that exist, the future of which are then hypothesized about. Did you know we didn't used to have computers and the internet, and now we do? Can you imagine what happens when everyone has an iPhone and Apple Watch? Access to education! Participation in the global economy! Expanded market size and e-commerce! Hype and buzzwords masquerading as information.
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338.064 |