5.3 Case Study
5.3.1 RQ1 What is the impact of blocking bugs?
the Internet and digital technology
.
49 While the fourth industrial revolution is not necessarily characterized by similar mechanical developments, the increase of research into technology that can not only make tasks easier but also innovate by themselves, such as artificial intelligence (AI) or automated vehicles (AV).
50While these technologies are in vastly different stages of development and AI integrated technology may not be widely available to the same extent technology from the previous industrial revolutions has created more highly skilled work, the fact that these technologies are already meshing with our lives to create a new “tier” of integrated living is an indicator of the kind of impacts the fourth Industrial Revolution will have
.
For example, a common postulation and current area of research is the extension of predictive search ability into common, daily objects.
In fact, the culmination of this extension of technology already has a name:“Internet-of-Things (IoT)”
.
Basic IoT technology is already being sold in devices like Google’s “Google Home” and similar products from other companies which allow remote controlling of“compatible appliances, lights, and more with just your voice
.
”51 To imagine this technology meshed with AI, when it is available,49Ibid.
50Ibid.
51 "Google Connected Home Devices," Google Store, accessed
March 14, 2019,
https://store.google.com/us/category/connected_home?hl=en-US.
is not a hard stretch
.
Predictive technology that can dim lights, or adjust temperatures, based on our previous preferences or the time of day could certainly have the same market impact that electronics of the third Industrial Revolution had, and the applications that technology that can “predict” our tastes or preferences beyond the scope of daily living is certainly non-negligible.
From this speculation and research, it becomes obvious that the Fourth Industrial Revolution will certainly have disruptive consequences, regardless of whether is it distinct from or simply an extension of the Third
.
The mindset shift in the United States away from Detroit and towards Silicon Valley as the hub of economic activity is reflective of Fourth Industrial Revolution’s power.
The technological hub of Silicon Valley, where much of AI, IoT, and AV science is being developed, has long overshadowed Detroit’s reputation as an industrial powerhouse in terms of lucrative appeal.
Through this mindset shift, we can see that the technology, innovation based market that is being developed as a part of the fourth Industrial Revolution in the Silicon Valley, despite not creating the same volume of jobs that Detroit has, is creating highly valued jobs, unsettling the long association of manufacturing with success
.
52 On the topic of Detroit’s manufacturing industry,52 Larry Elliott, "Fourth Industrial Revolution Brings Promise and Peril for Humanity," The Guardian, January 24, 2016, accessed March 14, 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/business /economics-blog/2016/jan/24/4th-industrial-revolution-brings-promise-and-peril-for-humanity-technology-davos.
specifically in automobiles, not only is the technology of the Fourth Industrial Revolution causing shifts in societal priority, it is also causing direct impacts to the workforce in the areas it is introduced
.
The taxi and transportation industry have undergone drastic changes over the past ten years due to integrative technology
.
Companies like Uber and Lyft have greatly reduced the barriers of entry for newcomers to the taxi workforce
.
Previously, a successful taxi newcomer would have had to think about investing and owning a fleet of cabs, as well as hiring drivers and establishing routes, tracking technology, etc.
Now, newcomers can easily enter the market without owning a single cab with the framework that these transportation network companies have established via integrating the internet and GPS systems into a viable industry.
The surprise of the success of Uber and Lyft has undeniably left a mark on the taxi industry, threatening and employing many previous workers
.
This leads to the question of and marks the significance of determining how the Fourth Industrial Revolution will impact economies on a global scale.
Emil Avdaliani from the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies argues that, similar to how the prior Industrial Revolutions opened the horizons for massive international trade and launched us into an era of globalization, the research into telerobotics that characterizes the fourth Industrial Revolution will interconnect us to the point that“geographic borders begin to disintegrate”
.
53 He cites the fact that economic goings and “ripples” from economies across the globe, like China, have far reaching impacts in various other economies around the world, due to the “global supply chain” that smartphones, and most other goods, rely on.
However, it can be argued that Avdaliani’s vision is a far-flung ideal:
this level of connectivity, and reduction of geopolitics to region-based fluid economies, would take a massive global frameshift and quite a bit of time
.
Further, the technology from the third Industrial Revolution has not even proliferated equally around the world yet either; there are nations that lack the technological infrastructure to integrate and utilize technologies like IoT and AI should they become commercially available, or even a cornerstone of the economy, even within economic regions.
For example, progress for internet network connectivity in the ASEAN bloc has some severe irregularities.
The 2012-2016 World Economic Forum’s Network Readiness Rate reveals that, while Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore have had steady increase in network connectivity over the measured four-year time frame, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Vietnam have demonstrated decreasing growth in network connectivity.
54 Further, ASEAN53 Emil Avdaliani, Report. Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, 2017. http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep16861.
54 "Networked Readiness Index," Global Information Technology Report 2016, , accessed March 17, 2019, http://reports.weforum.org/global-information-technology-report-2016/networked-readiness-index/.
enforces different standards and policies for e-commerce on the different nations in the bloc
.
While this in and of itself is not necessarily a bad implementation, and is certainly necessary for the equitable growth of the less developed nations in the bloc, it is also a testament to the fact that some of the nations in the bloc do not have the resources to deal with e-commerce to the same level of others within that region.
On a global scale, especially in the aftermath of the proliferation of IoT/AV/AI technology, they certainly would not be able to compete with the rapid changes.
Further, lack of technology-driven human capital will also be a massive detriment to insufficiently prepared countries, as they will not have the skilled labor force necessary, nor the market, to deal with the new wave of technology.
If these inequalities remain unresolved, it is highly likely that the fourth Industrial Revolution will widen gaps between developed countries who have access to and can benefit from the technology it proliferates and those countries that are not yet equipped with the resources necessary to cope with and trade in the changes within economic frameworks
.
However, a case study of Myanmar’s sudden increase in internet usage over the past two years may indicate that less developed countries may indeed be able to cope with advancing technology, due to arising need and market conditions
.
In 2016, the rate of growth of internet users in Myanmar shot up by 97%.
55 By 2017, one in every55Casey Hynes, "Internet Use Is On The Rise In Myanmar, But Better Options Are Needed," Forbes, September 25, 2017,accessed
four people owned a cell phone capable of connecting to the internet
.
56 What provoked this sudden upshot in mobile and internet usage, especially as Myanmar’s political regime cracked down with restrictions on accessible content? The answer lies in proliferation of cheap cell phones, 4G tech connections within the government, and multiple SIM cards.
With the increased production of androids and Chinese cell phones (which, incidentally allow for relatively easy swapping of SIM cards or have multiple SIM ports), cell phone prices have been driven down, allowing more and more people to easily purchase them.
Myanmar has also invested in developing 4G technology, which allows these cell users to connect to the internet.
Finally, the introduction of multiple network carriers to Myanmar, especially zero-rating carriers (who provide service at free of cost or subsidized charge but with restrictions on usage), has allowed people to purchase multiple SIM cards, through which they are able to access both restricted and unrestricted aspects of the internet to varying degrees
.
57 The motivation of users is typically the same: people wish to stay connected to news and their friends and family, and the internet provides a convenient platform to do so.
March 14, 2019, https://www.forbes.com/
sites/chynes/2017/09/22/internet-use-is-on-the-rise-in-myanmar-but-better-options-are-needed/#30d1cf7f448e.
56Ibid.
57Ibid.
Despite Myanmar’s success in introducing internet and encouraging greater internet use, their restricted access and lack of education initiatives means that users are not able to gain technological literacy, which is a must as we usher in the new Industrial Revolution
.
Greater internet usage alone cannot ready economies for newer technologies.
Economies need skilled workforces to be able to deal with problems, innovate and tailor technology suited for themselves and local populations, and to trade and communicate effectively and equally regarding technology on an international scale.
For these reasons, proliferation and availability of technology are not enough to prepare and sustain economies. Rather, there is also a necessity to build a skilled and literate workforce that can deal with and cope with any problems and the general environment that a rapidly evolving technology-based economy may present.
Supporting this idea is the success and case story of Singapore, also a nation in the ASEAN bloc.
Singapore is one of the few ASEAN bloc nations with initiatives in place to educate students, industry employees, and media workers specifically in new technologies, allowing them to create generations of literate future workers, employees capable of dealing with, manufacturing, and fixing technology, and also those with the ability to intelligently communicate and spread awareness about technology via various mediums.
58 This,58 "Singapore Unveils Third Masterplan for ICT in Education,"
Base, accessed March 14, 2019,
https://www.imda.gov.sg/infocomm-and-media-news/buzz-combined with funding and support for startups, has resulted in Singapore’s reputation as the “Silicon Valley of Southeast Asia”
.
In regards to preparedness for the fourth Industrial Revolution, we face one additional challenge
.
How can we predict how our trade models will change, and effectively educate and represent rapidly growing and increasing infrastructure in a meaningful way? In the case that Avdaliani’s vision for the future becomes even partially true, and geopolitical boundaries become more vague due to the interconnectedness and economic sectoring of geopolitical identities, we would need new, more applicable methods of visually determining these identities and borders.
Further, education regarding how we are interconnected and through what networks would also become crucial in ensuring that the systems in place are effectively taught to future generations and professionals.
As the volume of information increases, we must also be able to devise education and methods to help recipients parse through information, process it, and understand it effectively as well.
As work and material becomes more dependent on its value and skilled labor is more and more necessary, strong education systems will become cornerstones of the fourth Industrial Revolution.
Even in economic sectors that are typically associated with labor or relatively less education, like agriculture, technology will and has already been integrating itself further andcentral/2008/9/singapore-unveils-third-masterplan-for-ict-in-education.
further
.
For example, in Kenya, India, and other nations with heavy agricultural emphasis, the debut of digital analytics software that can predict and deliver crop and weather data is rapidly proliferating and becoming an invaluable resource.
Farmers need to be digitally proficient in order to use the software to the fullest extent.
Further, as software becomes more and more complex, farmers will need to be able to adapt to the rapid evolution and cope with markets that buy and sell this technology to stay afloat and competitive.
Overall, while we may still be in a position of transit, or a grey area, in between the impacts of the third Industrial Revolution and the beginning of the fourth, it is not difficult to predict what the fourth Industrial Revolution will entail once it is in full swing
.
In fact, the applications and research will undeniably have powerful consequences, both positive and negative.
Integrative and predictive technology can make functions like regulating greenhouses or understanding crop conditions automatic and preemptive, assist homeowners and those dependent on technology for daily function via predicting and conducting tasks based on previously gathered information on tastes and needs, and even bridge communication barriers via artificial intelligence that can more effectively convey what is lost in translation.
But, with these benefits and an increasingly interconnected world come the problems of ensuring that parts of our global economy do not fall behind, and ensuring that everyone is well equipped enough to successfully deal with the transition without widening wealth gapsand the barrier between less developed and more developed nations