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2 - What Is the Fourth Industrial Revolution?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 June 2023

Landry Signé
Landry Signé
Affiliation:
Stanford University, California
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Summary

Chapter 2 gives an extensive overview of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and how it will significantly change the way the world works. It is defined as a bridge for digital transformation and an innovative combination of “cyber-physical” systems. To better understand the 4IR, the previous three are broken down to give contextual background. The chapter highlights the exact technologies that will shape the broad themes and implications of the 4IR. These technologies include 3D printing, advanced material science, artificial intelligence, big data, blockchain, cloud computing, drones and automation, high-speed internet (5G technology), the Internet of Things, nanotechnology, and quantum computers. The technologies are explained and applied to how they are already being used in Africa or how they might be used. The chapter concludes with several themes based on the analysis of technologies and their characteristics. The four themes are productivity and sustainability, disruption and structural transformation, cooperation and inclusivity, security, privacy, and data integrity.

Keywords

DigitalizationSecurity and ConflictDigital EconomyConnect PhysicalBiological and Digital SystemsBlockchainArtificial intelligenceRoboticsAutomationBig DataAgile GovernanceIntrastate and Interstate InequalityStructural Transformation
Type
Chapter
Information
Africa's Fourth Industrial Revolution , pp. 8 - 23
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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