The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organization based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab.
WEF believes government must get ahead of technology, and work together with other nations to manage the fear of change. Society will act adversely and believe falsehoods if the government does not administer policies fairly.
Because technology transforms our society for good and bad, governments can pass policies to manage the bad. According to Klaus Schwab, limited upward mobility is necessary if AI technology is to thrive. Skills for future jobs will not be abundant or physical.
Per Klause, governments must have the ability to embrace technology that will transform society–ambition makes a good leader. Governments must have the speed to stay ahead of society’s transformation. Also, they must invest in transformation and be resilient.
The Forum employs over 700 people in Geneva, Switzerland, New York, San Francisco, Beijing, and Tokyo.
PURPOSE
The World Economic Forum brings together decision-makers from across society to work on projects and initiatives that make a real difference. Through collaboration between stakeholders with varied perspectives, our projects deliver concrete and sustainable results and make a positive impact at all levels of society.
The World Economic Forum believes that economic progress without social development is not sustainable, while social development without economic progress is not feasible. Our motto is ‘entrepreneurship in the global public interest’.
MEMBERSHIP
Three industrial revolutions have already transformed our world, and humanity is now experiencing a fourth.
This was but the first in a series of revolutions, each of which would transform life on Earth. The first occurred when we began using mechanical power rather than sheer human muscle. It happened between 1760 and 1840, spurred in particular by the development of steam power and the construction of railroads.
(2) industrial revolution – mass production.
The second industrial revolution dawned with the rise of mass production in the late nineteenth century and continued into the first half of the twentieth. The hallmarks of this industrial shift were the assembly line and electrified power.
(3) industrial revolution – computer or digital.
The third industrial revolution is often referred to as either the computer revolution or the digital revolution. Its contributions were the advent of computers, as well as semiconductors and the internet, which was developed in the latter half of the twentieth century.
(4) Infusion
But that wasn’t the last industrial revolution to date. In fact, we’re currently experiencing a fourth industrial revolution, which began early in the twenty-first century. This revolution brought about a much more mobile internet, as well as better, cheaper, and smaller sensors that are enabling the development of new technologies. It has also seen the rise of machine learning and artificial intelligence.
However, this new industrial revolution isn’t only about smart machines. It encompasses a number of different fields as well, from material science to nanotechnology, and energy to biology. What really separates this fourth industrial revolution from those that preceded it is that it merges these fields and connects them across digital, physical, and biological platforms.
Naturally, there are a number of other characteristics that distinguish the fourth industrial revolution.
Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR)
The Centre is bringing together an international network of leading companies, governments, civil society, and experts to co-design and pilot innovative policy and governance frameworks.
Also, they help leaders anticipate, understand and shape the trajectory of technological change for human-centered and society-serving outcomes.
The fourth industrial revolution is a fusion of advances in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), Web3, blockchain, 3D printing, genetic engineering, quantum computing, and other technologies. It’s the collective force behind many products and services that are fast becoming indispensable to modern life.
EXAMPLES:
1) Through collaboration the C4IR will work to overcome reservations about how to effectively implement blockchain.
In this example, blockchain is able to solve problems around:
- Trust – Because the transaction was validated by multiple parties, there is no need for a single trusted third party. This removes the ability for that third party to commit fraud.
- Transparency – Multiple parties have visibility into the transaction, so the entire process is more transparent thus there is less ability for one of the parties to lie or commit fraud.
- Accountability – Having a single agreed-upon and distributed ledger that is validated by multiple independent sources creates an audit trail with increased security and trust.
AI will enable governments to make strategic budget investments, navigate risks, and will drive the adoption of similar standards within the private sector as an alternative to regulation.
2) Design guidelines that will equip governments with a strategy to confidently and responsibly procure, deploy and develop their own AI technology, which in turn will positively impact the industry.
IMPLICATIONS:
1) the potential of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to increase unemployment may drive economic inequality in society.
2) robots and artificial intelligence will replace the human factor in work leading to “technological unemployment.” This is not the first time that people face technological progress as a threat to their jobs.
Like the revolutions that preceded it, the Fourth Industrial Revolution has the potential to raise global income levels and improve the quality of life for populations around the world. However, on a larger scale, Davis (2016) highlights three major societal implications of the Fourth Industrial Revolution: inequality, security, and identity.
THE GOAL OF A NEW WORLD ORDER
The scope of the C4IR initiative is ambitious, gathering international stakeholders across industry and government to apply an agile and action-oriented approach. They will co-develop new protocols with the goal of piloting and scaling these standards globally.
INITIATIVES
We are shaping technology governance and sectoral transformation with 30+ large-scale initiatives across multiple workstreams, led by 300+ public and private organizations
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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE – TECH HUBS
The Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) Tech Hubs program aims to build and evolve innovation centers in key U.S. regions; accelerate a region’s evolution into a global leader in an industry of the future; and strengthen U.S. global competitiveness within critical technologies.
The Tech Hubs program was enacted as part of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 (as the Regional Technology and Innovation Hub program), and Congress appropriated EDA $500 million for it as part of the FY 2023 Omnibus Appropriations Bill.
As part of its implementation of the Tech Hubs program, EDA will designate Tech Hubs and award grants to help U.S. regions support critical, emerging technologies; accelerate economic growth; and ensure that the industries of the future start, grow, and remain in the U.S.
The Tech Hubs program aims to bolster the delivery of the technologies and industries of the future. The program seeks to propel high-potential regions throughout the U.S. into rapid, self-sustaining growth.
The Tech Hubs program is currently under development by EDA. A Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is expected to be released in the first half of 2023.
On February 14, 2023, EDA issued a Tech Hubs Request for Information (RFI) in the Federal Register to solicit public input about the program design, structure, and evaluation of the Tech Hubs program. Click here to view the RFI. All comments must be received by 5 p.m. Eastern Time on March 16, 2023.
For more information, visit the Tech Hubs Website or email TechHubs@eda.gov.
Any revolution or change is met with fear and trepidation. Not only is artificial intelligence and automation impacting our daily lives (and what we do to earn a living), but it is also transforming entire industries, how things are made, and consumed, and even how countries are governed.
This raises the question; what impact will it have on jobs and careers over the next few years or decades? The answer depends mostly on what career path you choose.
While many of today’s occupations will still exist in the future, they will indefinitely transform, and in many cases, occupational categories will overlap with one another to form new roles. This is already happening and the rate at which it is occurring is expected to accelerate over time. So, it’s not to say that AI and automation will necessarily replace most jobs, but rather, will require people to adapt and learn how to use this technology to enhance existing processes. These roles will be focused on skills such as monitoring and operating automated and online processes in conjunction with their existing roles and responsibilities.
What is certain is that the new generation will become increasingly diverse and analytical in their way of thinking. They will continuously adopt new skills and be more adaptable to frequent changes in the workplace and in their roles, as new job roles start to open up and certain skills become obsolete.
According to a World Economic Forum report, The Future of Jobs, here are the 10 skills you will need for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
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- Complex Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Creativity
- People Management
- Coordinating with Others
- Emotional Intelligence
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Service Orientation
- Negotiation
- Cognitive Flexibility
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Especially vulnerable are jobs that involve a high level of physical work and repetitive tasks. Most reports suggest those industries hardest hit will be the retail & trade, transportation, agriculture, admin, office & support, accommodation & food services and production & manufacturing industries.
Innately, human characteristics such as creativity and empathy is hard to replace and will be less affected – for now at least – as machines can already be taught to “dream” and paint but often with bizarre consequences. People’s appreciation for these qualities will most likely increase and it’s highly unlikely to fall away. Jobs in cookery, writing, tourism, design and medical care for example, where human qualities are essential, will be more resistant to change.
Other areas that will see stable demand for years to come according to weforum.org include Media & Entertainment (65% stable), Consumer Products (73% stable), Healthcare (71% stable), Energy (70% stable), Professional Services (67% stable), ICT (65% stable), Mobility (61% stable), Infrastructure (58%) and Financial/Investor services (57% stable).
The biggest change will undoubtedly be the birth of new areas of work where the creation and designing of automated and online processes are concerned. In fact, according to one estimate, almost two-thirds of today’s kindergarten students will eventually have occupations that don’t currently exist.1
Key industries that will buffer you against the possibility of unemployment in the future include AI, robotics, 3D printing, nanotechnology, quantum computing, biotechnology, The Internet of Things, autonomous transport, aerospace, genomics (mapping and editing of genomes) and to name but a few.
What becomes evident is that the education system as we know it needs to be changed. The world’s economy will for a long time need a robust workforce, which means making sure that people are employable, for longer. Re-skilling a workforce regularly during a person’s career will become the norm. Widespread disruption is imminent, and therefore, preparation is key.
1 World Economic Forum, The Future of Jobs: Employment, Skills and Workforce Strategy for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, website last visited on May 18, 2017.
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References: 
, Forbes
