Revolution 4.0
I was recently in Patras IQ 2018 and what I was impressed with was the theme of parallel events. Speeches that generally unfolded around the «Industrial Revolution» and 5G. The second theme is quite normal, since our city, Patras, has been selected as a Pilot Implementation Municipality of the EU. Of course only if the Patras Municipality accepts and supports such an effort[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]The speeches and presentations included a lot of arguments about the necessity and the ease in the day-to-day processing of the trade and the services it will bring. At the same time, several examples of how and what will change in our everyday life were presented. Though I did not attend all the speeches, we should stand in two observations.
How prepared is our country to accept this kind of change? Not at all, as history has shown in similar situations of the past.
But nobody will ever be ready to remain untouched in such technological revolution. In the past, entire political and economic theories have evolved around these changes, which even today have fanatical supporters
But what kind of changes are we talking about?
This question is the most interesting as we do not yet have a clear picture. Beyond the invaluable saving of time and energy resources from new technologies, there will be major changes in our everyday lives as well as our habits. For example, most mobiles are now activated by fingerprinting or even facial recognition. This will also apply to doors or airports. An online market is repaid directly from our credit card, so think instead of typing the card data simply by passing our mobile phone (or smart watch) and completing the transaction. The use of unmanned and fully autonomous vehicles for our transport, defense or research and rescue or robotic systems for the construction sector. The millennials will experience what the generation of the present fourteenths saw as scientific imagination.
Changes, however, will also exist in more essential things about our lives. The most important thing is probably our professional status. Today’s occupations will disappear as the human factor is replaced by machines. Machines have almost no competition in 4d (dump, dull, dirty & dangerous) jobs. Always as technology progressed and became cheaper, it replaced the human factor in the implementation of these kind of jobs. This will continue to happen with the difference that the rhythm will be frighteningly faster.
The end of the world s coming?
On the contrary. We expect an unprecedented increase in living standards over a much larger geographic extent than we can ever imagine. In addition, it is predicted a tremendous reduction in the number of people suffering from hunger as new technologies will multiply food production and greatly reduce costs. Finally, the evolution in medicine, remote access and developments in materials and nanotechnology only wonders could do.
But since scientific approaches stem from fantasy science fiction films, and in them the story always ends up in conditions of turmoil and indifference for many people, what are we reading here?
One could hold an optimistic approach, someone else a malicious attempt to mitigate the upcoming difficulties, someone else that we are fools! Probably none of the above. It is an approach based on historical analysis. The changes that came in early (pre-) last century were not the cause of poverty. The wars were. Improving agricultural output has greatly reduced the cost of food. Developments in factories’ production lines have greatly reduced the cost of goods. The evolution in transport (road arteries and cars, trains, airplanes and ships) have now led the (western) world to enjoy such a standard of living and such a life expectancy.
“The suffering in human societies does not come from technological developments but from the people themselves.”
By pulling the sociopolitic blinkers and activating our econometric filters we see that only positive facts can arise from the forthcoming 4th industrial revolution! It’s one way path…
