The Fourth Industrial Revolution: Life made simple!

The first thing you do when you wake up is to check your phone, whether to switch off your alarm, look at the time or browse through social media. Our cell phones are so part of our lives and it’s hard to imagine life without them. That’s the core definition of the fourth industrial revolution, machines interacting with human beings.

The fourth industrial revolution has come to enhance the human experience. The fusion of technology has blurred the lines between physical, digital and biological spheres, which is interesting, because we are unable to tell what is real from what isn’t.

Let’s be honest, our smart devices know us better than our real best friends, they know the type of music we listen too, what advices we seek and even the people we talk too. So wouldn’t it be wonderful if we used our devices for career recommendations suited to our personalities, cities aligned to where we want to work and even connecting with the people and spaces that could elevate our careers.

Imagine a world where everyone had all the information they needed about themselves, in that way we would have the right people in the right jobs, and eventually eradicate unemployment. I know I am reaching, but the fourth industrial revolution has inspired endless opportunities.

Artificial intelligence is the creator of all these opportunities, it is the intelligence demonstrated by machines contrary to the natural human and animal intelligence. I know the thought of robots scares most people and makes them feel they will be replaced by creepy emotionless species. But the truth is; those species are already watching our every move on Facebook, instagram and even whatsapp, in fact if data is needed on human behaviour that’s the best place to begin finding it.

That’s the beauty of artificial intelligence; it has reduced the cost of prediction. That is, taking information you have to generate information you don’t have. Therefore the process of forecasting future sales, for example, can be made easier by dictating human behaviour. 

To take it a step further artificial intelligence eliminates human error by automating decisions. So by giving people a few options to a question and automating their answers, it eliminates information asymmetry. This changes the theory of rational expectation as decisions are now rational. 

Based on accurate information, suppliers will know what consumers seek; this will effectively heighten the customer experience as demand meets supply. Essentially artificial intelligence changes the practice and thinking of economics, in fact it inspires innovative ways of traditional systems of production, management and governance.

I know ethical concerns have risen concerning artificial intelligence, where do we draw the line and what regulations should be in place to prevent the over manipulation genetics for desirable traits. The truth is robots could never replace humans as they no general intelligence yet; they are customized for a certain purpose unlike humans. So don’t be afraid no one is going to take your job! 

All we need to do is educate ourselves on how we can make artificial intelligence work for us. Find new ways of learning and new ways on conducting business. When we commit to lifetime learning and development in their area of expertise we won’t lose relevance. Ultimately we as humans are in control and need to channel this control correctly to make this world a better place.