The Fourth Industrial Revolution

The author Klaus Schwab is a German-born business professor at the University of Geneva. He was founder of the World Economic Forum in 1971. The WEF facilitates the meeting of business and political leaders, selected intellectuals, and journalists to discuss the future of global economics.The central theme of the 2016 meeting of the Forum focused on the Fourth Industrial Revolution as defined and discussed by Professor Schwab in a lengthy essay published in Foreign Affairs in 2015. This book is essentially an expanded version of that essay plus some added material which are the results of canvassing the meeting participants regarding when various technological breakthroughs will reach their respective tipping points. Some of the results of this survey is included in the Appendix of this book.This book provides a thorough discussion of the possible future impacts of these changes. The author is willing to acknowledge the possible detrimental results, but then he goes on to say the others predict more optimistic outcomes. I get the impression that the author was trying to be objective, but consequently his reluctance to advocate for a particular position makes this book dry reading material.I was very dissatisfied with the chapter titled "The Way Forward" near the end of the book's message. I was looking forward to some sort of recommended plan for making the necessary adjustments for society to adapt to the coming economic changes. Instead the message I took from that chapter were generalities such as the following:"... we must adapt, shape and harness the potential of disruption by nurturing and applying four different types of intelligence:— contextual (the mind) ...— emotional (the hear) ...— inspired (the soul) ...— physical (the body) ..."The author elaborates on these, but I found these discussions to be lacking specifics.The following is a listing of the anticipated future technological advancements and their respective tipping point dates based on a survey of 800 business executives. They were asked to gage when they anticipate that these game-changing technologies will break into the public domain to a significant degree. The percentage listed next to the items below is the percentage of survey respondants that believed that the tipping point would be achieved by the year 2025.1. Implantable Technologies—82%2. Our Digital Presence—84%3. Vision as the New Interface—86%4. Wearable Internet—91%5. Ubiquitous Computing—79%6. A Supercomputer in Your Pocket—81%7. Storage for All—91%8. The Internet of & for Things—89%9. The Connected Home—70%10. Smart Cities—64%11. Big Data for Decisions—83%12. Driverless Cars—79%13. A.I. & Decision Making—45%14. A.I. & White-Collar Jobs—75%15. Robotics and Services—86%16. Bitcoin & the Blockchain—58%17. The Sharing Economy—67%18. Governments & the Blockchain—73%19. 3D Printing & Manufacturing—84%20. 3D Printing & Human Health—76%21. 3D Printing & Consumer Products—81%22. Designer Beings—vote result not shown23. Neurotechnologies—vote result not shownEach of the above anticipated technological advances are thoroughly described in the Appendix along with the above survey results.Numbering of the RevolutionsIn my opinion there is no fourth industrial revolution. What this author is calling the fourth industrial revolution is simply a continuation of the third. I get the impression from this book that he thinks the current situation deserves its own label because of the speed of change. But exponential rates of change occurred during the Third Industrial Revolution; it's just that at this point in time the changes appear really fast. That's what exponential rates do.The following are the definitions of the various industrial revolutions as used by this book:1. The Machine Age (1760-1840): The Steam Engine, Railroads2. Mass Production (late 19th - early 20th c): Assembly Line Manufacturing, Electricity3. The Digital Revolution (from mid 1960s-): Computers, Semiconductors, Internet4. The Fourth IR: Ubiquitous Mobile Internet, Internet of Things (IoT) with Sensors, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Gene Sequencing, Nanotechnology

Mr. Schwab certainly provides a thought provoking look at the changing world around us. The book is relatively short and technical concepts are explained in an easy to understand narrative. It is divided into three parts. The author starts by defining the 4th industrial revolution. The 2nd chapter then gives the underlying drivers for change. The 3rd chapter is where the author examines distinct categories such as the economy, business, national & global, and society. By evaluating each category individually, the reader can easily grasp the issues for that area. The book concludes with an appendix that is extremely comprehensive. It provides specific examples of 4th generation technology and how pervasive each development will become in society.The book was written in 2016 in preparation for that year’s World Economic Forum. The advantage of reading this book four years after publication is that one can judge the accuracy of its predictions. One need only look at the polarizing effect of social media on American society and the susceptibility of people to believe what should be obvious disinformation. The author makes an insightful point that this revolution can either robotize humanity, or we can use technology to lift humanity to a new level of moral consciousness.Bottom Line, This is a succinct look at how technology is both advancing and changing society at an accelerating pace. After reading this book, each reader will likely take a moment to ponder the future of our world.

The book was a great read and very informative. However I had to remove 2 stars as the book and a few pages arrived bent.

Claus Schwab outlines the Great Reset. It is important for everyone to understand what the World Economic Forum is planning for the Elites and everybody else. They are not hiding anything, it is there for you to see if you are interested. There is a lot more to know about their plans but much of it is right out in the open. 2030 is right around the corner be prepared.

There’s a disconnect between the description and content of this book. And while I’m sure it is good information, I’ve attempted to read twice and it’s good info; however wish it was from a current lens and not already a few years old. I found it to be dense and jargon filled which leads me to believe one of three things: I’m not the target audience, I don’t have an immediate need for the info therefore it’s not relevant to me, and/or the writer was writing to themselves and immediate peers and not a broader audience of business owners and entrepreneurs. I found the information hard to absorb. Will give it another go when I have time.

I wish the book would go in depth in the discussions. I feel it only scratches the surface serving as an introduction to the 4th industrial revolution.I am now looking for a book(s) on real military advancements. Cloaks, spaceships, armor, lasers, rail guns, drones, and more.

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The author gives a good understanding about how technology sees its upcoming barriers. There is a balance between the strengths and the weaknesses of the 4th industrial revolution and its impact to humanity. I would expect a more enthusiastic and convincing approach on the side of the technology related benefits. The discussion around the social impact will be as well expected a longstanding argument if value chains are to be "threatened" on the road.

Forecasts of airbnb and uber and drones as the way of the future. Is this new to us? Most of the book is rambling on about much of the same without any deeper details. Couldn't finish it as so boring.

Stimulating your thinking & potential decision making. How to invest in our future world and create wealth over the decade ahead.

Este libro nos da las herramientas necesarias para afrontar las necesidades que resultan de el extremo uso de la tecnología.