The 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) involves the merging of physical, digital, and biological systems through technologies like artificial intelligence, robotics, the internet of things, and 3D printing. It builds on previous industrial revolutions driven by water/steam power, electricity, and electronics/IT. Key drivers of 4IR include digitization across value chains and products/services as well as new digital business models. While 4IR promises advantages like increased productivity, it also poses economic, social, political, and organizational challenges that must be addressed through regulation and skills development.

1. THE FOURTH
INDUSTRIAL
REVOLUTION (4IR)
Mackenzie Chibambo

2. What is 4IR?
4IR seeks to describe the blurring boundaries between the physical, digital and biological worlds.
It is a fusion of advances in artificial intelligence (AI), Intelligent Assistants (IA), robotics, the
Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing, genetic engineering, quantum computing, and other
technologies
AI is the name given to the interdisciplinary study designed to make machines do things on
behalf of man.
Systems designed to perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence, such as visual
perception, speech recognition etc,
IA or intelligent Virtual assistant (IVA) or intelligent personal assistant (IPA) (Chatbot) is can
perform tasks based on commands.

3. Tracing Industrial Revolutions
First Industrial revolution
Following a slow period of proto-industrialization in 1765. From 18th C end-to early 19th C.
Used water and steam to mechanize production
2nd IR emerged around 1870: used electricity to increase mass-production
3rd IR emerged round 1969: used electronics, IT and the internet to automize production
4IR (4.0) a new chapter in human development, enabled by extraordinary technology advances
building on 1, 2, 3, revolutions (1,2,3). Mobile computing, AI, IA, robotics etc

4. Key drivers of 41R
Digitization and integration of vertical and horizontal value chains:
 Vertically: all production processes across the organization are integrated
(conception to consumption).
 Horizontally, all internal operations from suppliers to customers and key
value chain partners are integrated.
Digitization of product/service offerings: use of algorithms and analytics for
data to analyze products and customer behavior and improvement plans.
Digital business models and customer access: clients needs change; business
provide digital solutions to meet and detect such fragile needs to serve them
better.

5. Advantages of 4IR
Technologies like cyber-physical system (CPS), big data analytics (BDA)
and cloud computing (CC) help with early detection of defects and production
failures:
Detection enable prevention, increase productivity and quality of services/goods
that have significant competitive value.
4IR has enabled production of goods on a scale that was unprecedented in
human history.
Has advanced many people's standard of living in some ways: medical
discoveries, communication etc
Has expanded the economies of businesses and governments.

6. Economic implications of41R
High economic and investment costs involved when establishing the
tech infrastructure.
Requires regular business model innovations, alterations and
adaptations.
Very unclear economic benefits at the moment despite the excessive
investments being made.

7. Social implications of 41R
Privacy concerns: use algorithms and predictive analytics are a concern.
Surveillance and distrust: the case of Huawei and the US pentagon.
General reluctance to change by stakeholders (cultural resistance).
Threat of redundancy of the corporate IT department.
Likely loss of many jobs due to automated processes; especially for blue collar
workers. (May increase inequalities and poverty)
Creation of a society full of ‘me-individuals’ and social disintegration
(individualism vs social cohesion)
Cultural/moral erosion and uncertainties.

8. Political implications
Lack of regulation standards and forms of certifications maybe catastrophic to states
and humans.
Unclear legal issues and data security could compromise national security.
Robotics may wipe out innocent people due to systems malfunction (think of the
Terminator movies, driverless cars/ electronic waieters etc).
Citizens may become lawless and ungovernable due to access to seems of radical
information via the social media (Think of the Arab Revolution and its spread/
Hongkong etc).
Increased spying through surveillance and spying technologies may compromise
individual and national securities (ISIS, Al-Shabaab, Huawei vs USA, Blackberry cases
etc).

9. Organisational/business implications
IT security issues, aggravated by increased online and cross-border
transactions.
Reliability needed for critical machine-to-machine communication
(M2M), including very short and stable latency times
Need to maintain the integrity of production processes.
Any IT snags may cause expensive production outages.

10. Organisational/business implications cont..
Need to protect industrial know-how (contained also in the control
files for the industrial automation gear: institutional memory)
Lack of adequate skill-sets to expedite the transition towards 4IR:
Does RSA have this?
Low top management commitment.
Insufficient qualification of employees to deal with the processes of
4IR.

11. Big data (algorithms) and analytics
Big data analytics consists of 6Cs in the integrated Industry 4.0 and cyber physical
systems environment:
Connection (sensor and networks)
Cloud (computing and data on demand)
Cyber (model & memory)
Content/context (meaning and correlation)
Community (sharing & collaboration): social-networking, book-clubs etc
Customization (personalization and value): ability to hyper-text, highlight, adapt.