Prime
Developing countries should embrace the fourth industrial revolution
What you need to know:
Changes. The fourth industrial revolution is also changing not only what people do but also who they are.
Technology is changing faster than ever, disrupting almost every industry in every country. The breadth and depth of these changes are affecting the systems of production, management, governance. One wonders the extent to which developing countries are prepared.
The first industrial revolution emerged with mechanisation using water and steam power for production, the second industrial revolution was characterised by use of new sources of energy; electricity, gas and oil for production.
In the second half of the 20th Century, the third industrial revolution saw the emergence of electronics and information technology to automate production.
Now, the fourth industrial revolution is said to be building on the third, by changing the way we live and work using the Internet, robotics, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence. In fact, world over billions of people are connected by mobile devices, with processing power, and access to knowledge than ever before. And these continue to expand by further technology innovations breakthroughs. While the technologies that underpin the fourth industrial revolution are having more efficiency gains in developed countries, the disruptions in developing countries are difficult to comprehend or anticipate.
Today, gains in efficiency and productivity are more evident in sectors such as trade, transportation and communication. For example, already, artificial intelligence is all around us, in terms of computer programmes that imitate human thought and action from self-driving cars and drones to virtual assistants and software that translate or invest. On a day to day basis, ordering a taxi, booking a flight, buying a product, making a payment, listening to music, watching a film, or playing a game, etc can now be done remotely.
The fourth industrial revolution is already causing greater inequality, by disrupting the labour markets. As automation substitutes for labour, the net displacement of workers by machines is exacerbating the gap between returns to capital and returns to labour.
On the other hand, the displacement of workers by technology, in aggregate, is resulting into a net reduction in safe and rewarding jobs.
There is an increasing use of digital money, with the common one as being cryptocurrencies, designed to work as a medium of exchange, facilitating fast and cheap digital transactions with minimal fees, including payment of bills. Some countries have already launched their national cryptocurrencies including Dubai (UAE) with the world’s first state-backed cryptocurrency in 2017 known as Emcash; Venezuela with the Petro (February 2018). Those soon to launch theirs are Estonia (Estcoin), Russia (Crypytoruble), Sweden (E-Kroan), Japan (J-Coin) including India, China, US, UK, Ecuador, Canada, and Israel in advance stages. Looking at this list, one wonders when the African countries will ride on the wave of this digital stage?
The fourth industrial revolution is also changing not only what people do but also who they are. It has altered human interaction and privacy, the time devoted to work and leisure, and how people cultivate skills, hook up, and nurture relationships
Are developing countries waiting until there are massive dislocations in their societies before they totally embrace the fourth industrial revolution opportunities?
On the whole, to manage the above forces brought about by technological advancements, calls for different sectors in the economy to start exploring avenues for tapping into the emerging opportunities garnered by the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Today’s decision-makers, need to shape a future that works for all by putting people first and empowering them. This will allow them to devise ways of leveraging ecosystems to embrace risk to stay ahead of the competition.
Developing countries should gain new technological powers to increase their control over populations, based on pervasive surveillance systems and the ability to control digital infrastructure.
Mr Nalere is a Ugandan Economist. [email protected]
