The Fourth Industrial Revolution in Human History: The Need for Agents of Change in Technology

The digital transformation has been marked as the beginning of the fourth industrial revolution. Technology has always been the factor in changing the landscape of industry from one method to another, where programming and coding can replace what humans cannot do. Nowadays, with the rise of robotics, artificial intelligence and big data, industries are enabled to produce efficiently in a unique way that’s never been done before. The shift to the next generation of industrial revolution raises concerns on human control within the technology itself, because mastering the future is not something we can learn in one night. It is very dynamic and changing too rapidly for humans to keep up, let alone stay ahead of it. As the way businesses are being run has changed, there are bound to be challenges.

Cybercrime strikes

The Global State of Information Security Survey 2015 reported that the number of detected scams has risen to 66 percent year over year since 2009. Viruses and scams have come a long way to the point where they are no longer merely infect and shut down systems, but act as a means to commit crime. Any businesses connected to the Internet are at risk of being hacked - ranging from identity theft to fraudulent transactions worth billions of dollars. The evolution of cybercrime is as interesting as the development of technology itself. No matter how much technology improves, hackers always find ways to crack them. Hence, for business in the era of the 4th industrial revolution, the question is no longer “if” but “when” the attacks will reach their backdoor.

Interestingly, this trend has occurred and has never been predicted before. It has been claimed that the shortage of Information Security experts are one of the crises in the global technology. It is predicted that by 2019, there will be an exponential increase in the demand for of security experts to 6 million globally.

Humans and robots to merge

The evolution of the human resource landscape is not only happening in the information technology field, but also in other verticals. The rise of robots and artificial intelligence will change the way people do business. Humans and robots will merge in the future and automating many jobs. In 5 years time, technology is predicted to cut at least 5 million jobs in the world.

The questions for older and younger generations concern education and curriculum development – what is the relevance of science and technology? Should there be massive changes in education as well? Otherwise, 65% of children who are studying in primary school today could end up working in jobs that do not exist in the future.

Government’s role in making things happen

What is the limit? Technology apparently does not have a limit - it will not stop evolving. Interestingly, regulations and policies are usually created after drastic changes happen, and these will also continually evolve. The government plays a big role in enabling technology to provide better welfare. At the end of 2014, at least 130 countries are providing government services online. While adopting technology to better serve their people, governments around the world are developing regulations to allow technology to run businesses. Right now, revolutionary fintech, transportation and e-commerce businesses are being invented. Taking this further, managing disruptive business is a delicate game; governments have to be proactive to outpace technology.

The agents of change and technology as an absolute skill to acquire

What we see right now is still the infancy of the revolution. Despite the massive transformation, the gap of technology adoption is still there, especially in emerging markets such as Southeast Asia. According to the World Bank, technology is still failing to deliver benefits. It is reported that only 40% of the world population is connected to the Internet. When will the 4th industrial revolution affect the disconnected 60%? It might happen in a flash.

The impact of the revolution has been seen and felt by traditional businesses; technology has caused job loss and revenue decline. The future is not yet upon us but is at a crucial turning point. Humans can choose to master technological skills in order to stay competitive. Societies have to work together to educate generations to adapt to technology. Everyone may have different levels of understanding technology, but everyone can be an agent of change and leverage technology in order to address challenges in society and drive economical growth. Therefore, the fear of losing control of technology can be eased, and more importantly, the future can still be managed and planned.

- This guest post is written by Soraya Rosadha. Soraya is a technology and sustainable business enthusiast. As a communications consultant, Soraya actively participates in supporting digitization in Indonesia and Southeast Asia by sharing knowledge and insights. The MA graduate in the field of corporate communications and public relations at University of Leeds, United Kingdom believes that technology has an important role in building the nation's sovereignty in various aspects.

As a proud Indonesian, Soraya always believes in youth’s leadership and sharing insights with all Indonesians across the country as one of the way to bridge technology transformation gap in Indonesia. The lady who lives in Singapore is fond of discussion, painting and participating in volunteering activities, including the development of youth’s leadership.