Will the 4th Industrial Revolution diminish what it means to be human?

Historians insist that the 4th Industrial Revolution is upon us – an age of unprecedented promise and peril as we begin to “fuse the physical, digital and biological worlds,” in the words of Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum.

What characterizes the 4th industrial revolution? Technological breakthroughs in fields such as artificial intelligence (self-driving cards, drones, virtual assistances and software that translate or invest), robotics (smart machines, humans working side by side with robots), 3-D printing, nanotechnology (e.g., nano-bots that can one day be injected into your bloodstream to cure illnesses), biotechnology (designer babies, extending the lifespan, improving cognition, capabilities), materials science, energy storage and quantum computing.

The promise, of course, is that the 4th Industrial Revolution will raise global income levels and quality of life worldwide. But perils exist, led by fears of growing inequality and job loss (noted Larry Elliott, writing for The Guardian: “One estimate [maintains that] 47% of U.S. jobs are at risk from automation”). In that same article, Elliott quotes Schwab who compares Detroit with Silicon Valley. In 2014, Schwab explained, the automakers and entrepreneurs of Silicon Valley generated the same revenue (roughly $25 billion), but Silicon Valley did it with 137,000 employees, just a tenth of Detroit’s 1.3 million).

Said Schwab, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland this year: “[We’re seeing a] hollowing out of the middle” in the job market, whereby, worldwide, “the demand for highly skilled workers has increased while the demand for workers with less education and lower skills has decreased. The result is a job market with a strong demand at the high and low ends, but a hollowing out of the middle.”

Impact on Humanity, Our Inner Lives

Schwab raises other concerns, chief among them the 4th Industrial Revolution’s impact on humanity – that is, what it means to be human. Schwab also worries about the impact this revolution might have on our inner lives.

He explained: “I am a great enthusiast and early adopter of technology, but sometimes I wonder whether the inexorable integration of technology in our lives could diminish some of our quintessential human capacities, such as compassion and cooperation. Our relationship with our smartphones is a case in point. Constant connection may deprive us of one of life’s most important assets: the time to pause, reflect, and engage in meaningful conversation.”

Elliott raises an additional concern, wondering whether governments – as presently constituted – can meet the challenges ahead.

Said Elliott: “Faced with the challenge of disruptive new technology, the current political framework is no longer fit for purpose and its shortcomings are likely to lead to a backlash that could turn very nasty.”

Amid these concerns, Schwab maintains that “in the end, it all comes down to people and values. We need to shape a future that works for all of us by putting people first and empowering them. In its most pessimistic, dehumanized form, the 4th Industrial Revolution may indeed have the potential to ‘robotize’ humanity and thus to deprive us of our heart and soul. But as a complement to the best parts of human nature—creativity, empathy, stewardship—it can also lift humanity into a new collective and moral consciousness based on a shared sense of destiny. It is incumbent on us all to make sure the latter prevails.”

The Industrial Revolutions

• 1st – 1784 – Muscle replaced by machines (steam, water, mechanical product equipment)

• 2nd – 1870 – Electricity (characterized by mass production; key inventions included the internal combustion engine, the airplane and moving pictures)

• 3rd – 1969 – The digital revolution (electronics, IT, automated production)

• 4th – Cyber-physical systems

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