The Forth Industrial Evolution: Transformation of Tomorrow

We’re on the threshold of a new era. New technologies are changing how we live and who we are. It’s a pivotal moment for humanity – and it’s being hailed as the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Klaus Schwab, the Forum’s Founder and Executive Chairman, authored a book about it. As a proponent of the economic and social significance of technological change, he is the voice of how the fourth evolution will be like no other.

Through history, human ingenuity has transformed the way we live and work, from Hargreaves’ Spinning Jenny, to Ford’s assembly line, to Wozniak’s personal computer. Today, I believe that we are on the cusp of a Fourth Industrial Revolution, powered by billions of connected devices, 3D printers and super-smart robots, to name a few. This revolution will not only change entire societies and economies, it stands to transform the very essence of human nature. So are we ready for it?

Why the ‘fourth’?

There have been three major shifts in human productivity over the past three centuries. This chart shows how we’ve progressed from mechanization and mass manufacturing in the 18th and 19th centuries, to an industrial revolution driven by electronics and information technology in the 20th. The latest revolution comes to us courtesy of cyberspace.

Read more at: The Transformation of Tomorrow

Humankind is at the threshold of transformation driven by the confluence of emerging technologies. How will the Fourth Industrial Revolution transform industries and societies?

This session was developed in partnership with The New York Times.

Speakers: Andrew R. Sorkin, Sheryl Sandberg, Satya Nadella, Paul Kagame, Anand Mahindra, Zachary Bookman