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A harmonious partnership between humans and machines
This is the first in a series of articles about the arrival of the 5th Industrial Revolution. At this point in time, the widespread deployment of new technologies into the home, the workplace and in fact, most aspects of our daily lives, is making us more aware that we are living symbiotically with these new technologies. And while it seems as though the world is still grappling to come to grips with the 4th Industrial Revolution, what is not yet apparent to everyone is that we have been catapulted into the next stage of our evolution – the 5th Industrial Revolution.
Introducing the 5th Industrial Revolution
Throughout history, each industrial revolution has been built upon the preceding one. The 1st Industrial Revolution, which involved the introduction of mechanisation and steam engines to replace human labour and horsepower, took place between around 1760 to 1840. The 2nd Industrial Revolution came about with the arrival of electricity, the production of steel and the development of the internal combustion engine which began in the late 1800s. The 3rd Industrial Revolution, otherwise known as the ‘Digital Revolution’ began in the 1980s with the widespread introduction of computers, digitisation and the Internet.
More recently, the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) began at the start of the 21st Century, ushering in a wave of technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics, The Internet of Things (IoT), Blockchain and Crypto. While the Covid-19 Pandemic and climate change might once have been thought to have accelerated the adoption of 4IR technologies, it is now clear that the shift that has taken place has moved humanity way beyond 4IR and fast-tracked us into the 5th Industrial Revolution (5IR), which began at the start of the second decade of the 21st Century.
“When the moon is in the seventh house
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars.
This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius.” Aquarius – The 5th Dimension: 1969
Fears around automation disappear in the comfort of collaboration
In October 2018, which is only four years ago, the World Economic Forum (WEF) in their Future of Jobs Report, revealed that the impact of 4IR technologies would both disrupt existing jobs as well as open up new job avenues. In this report it was further predicted that by 2022 more than 50% of all tasks in the workplace would be handled by machines and algorithms. This is where we are at. However, the fears associated with mass automation displacing humans and kicking them out of their jobs, has been rife across the world. Yet, the flipside to this coin is only emerging now as we move into a new era of understanding. This ‘new age’, as it were, is not about humans losing their jobs to machines. Instead, it is about the harmonious partnership, or collaboration between humans and machines. This is what the 5th Industrial Revolution brings.
An article on this very subject that was compiled in collaboration with the World Economic Forum (WEF) puts it in this way:
“In contrast to trends in the Fourth Revolution toward dehumanization, technology and innovation best practices are being bent back toward the service of humanity by the champions of the Fifth… In the Fifth Industrial Revolution, humans and machines will dance together, metaphorically.”
Looking back over the events of the past three decades we can clearly see that the 3rd and 4th Industrial Revolutions were indeed hard on humans and the environment alike. Preceding generations needed to radically adapt their work processes, habits, and lifestyles according to how the machines function. With the 5th Industrial Revolution, the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction – the focus is on the well-being of all stakeholders – that is, society at large, businesses, employees, and customers. Human beings now occupy front and centre stage. Thus, the 5th Industrial Revolution paves the way for a change in consciousness. That is an evolution towards leveraging the collaboration between humans and machines to create a better world for us all. Let the sunshine in.
Keep a look out for our next article on the 5th Industrial Revolution as we enter a new age of consciousness.
Helen Fenton – Head of Research at Business Optimization Training Institute (BOTI)
Reference sources: WEF|sciencedirect.com|skillsportal.co.za