Today

The stuff about the 4th IR talks about a big change coming up since Covid in 2020. Talking about the post-pandemic economic systems changing how we live and work. I dunno about that, but what is interesting.

Back in the 1700s a Transatlantic sailing ship would take trip from Europe to USA in 7 weeks (around 7000km). By the 1800s, steam ships would do that in 7 days! Amazing eh. And even more steam trains were built across Europe allowing greater transportation with over 67M trips over the course of 1750-1850.

Hence the 4th IR is likely to bring about the same changes. Likely to cut the cost of doing coding/typing/storytelling/designing but bring about also unprecedented levels of development. Greater booms in education, creativity, research speeds and application development. This is the revolution we seek to exploit

Also forgot, greater manufacturing & worldbuilding with AI/VR technologies and 3D printing (being called Additive Manufacturing).

So this guy is talking about how to make the 4th IR better. Like the 1st IR had it's side effects.

Like pollution, crime and poverty, which were counterbalanced by things like sewers and welfare states. Like so, we need to manage the 4th IR(digital, data, AI and robotics) to avoid adverse side-effects. How?

1. Shift in ends and purposes. Expand opportunities, not shrink workforces.
2. Shift in means & participation. Democratize tools of 4th IR so people can build their own solutions.
3. Humanize it. Make the tools feel collaborative.
4. Need for complementary innovations. E.g. in data and social innovations.

This will lead us to contribute to outcomes that really matter, and build up the fabric of society rather than tearing it apart.

2nd IR

Built on the 1st IR. Characterized by:

1. Standardization
2. Scale
3. Global mindset
4. Engineered systems

This resulted in big electricity and road networks, electricity enabled instantaneous communicatoin & mass production using machines. Workers could make money all over, and professional management practices arose like Harvard Management course in 1908.

3rd IR

Built on one of the machines of the 2nd IR. The computer & mobile networks:

These 2 allowed information transfer of many forms at scale, the biggest being financial info, which sealed a lot of value on the internet. Characterized by:

1. Network effects
2. Moore's Law (transistors)
3. Data & analysis as a product
4. Programmed systems

This resulted in the world becoming a small digital village, a shift from hardware to software & global open collaboration ecosystems.

4th IRR

Coming in next section.

Industrial revolutions seem to have some issues:

1. Distributions of innovations is unequal. Despite the innovations made so far:

1. Only 50% of people are connected to the internet

2. 65% of farmers in Sub-saharan Africa still use manual labor in farms.

3. 2B people globally lack clean water & sanitation

Why?

Because change is distribution of technology is not equal, it is affected by the below factors.

TECHNOLOGIES DON'T SPREAD BY THEMSELVES

They depend on:

■ Capital

■ Skilled labor

■ Ingenuity

■ Links to global value chains

And beyond tech some barriers can be:

■ Entrepreneurial leadership

■ Political will

■ Private beneficence

■ Community buy-in