The Fourth Industrial Revolution: Opportunities and Challenges

TLDR

The industrial revolutions have progressed from agrarian to mechanized, electrical, and information-based production, culminating in the fourth industrial revolution that blends digital and physical realms through connected technology. The article aims to examine the major features, opportunities, and challenges of the fourth industrial revolution. The authors review and analyze the evolution of the four industrial revolutions, focusing on the fourth’s opportunities and challenges.

Abstract

The fourth industrial revolution, a term coined by Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, describes a world where individuals move between digital domains and offline reality with the use of connected technology to enable and manage their lives. (Miller 2015, 3) The first industrial revolution changed our lives and economy from an agrarian and handicraft economy to one dominated by industry and machine manufacturing. Oil and electricity facilitated mass production in the second industrial revolution. In the third industrial revolution, information technology was used to automate production. Although each industrial revolution is often considered a separate event, together they can be better understood as a series of events building upon innovations of the previous revolution and leading to more advanced forms of production. This article discusses the major features of the four industrial revolutions, the opportunities of the fourth industrial revolution, and the challenges of the fourth industrial revolution.