This book applies cutting-edge economic analysis and social science to unpack the rich complexities and paradoxes of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The book takes the reader on a bold, refreshing, and informative tour through its technological drivers, its profound impact on human ecosystems, and its potential for sustainable human development. The overarching message to the reader is that the Fourth Industrial Revolution is not merely something to be feared or survived; rather, this dramatic collision of technologies, disciplines, and ideas presents a magnificent opportunity for a generation of new pioneers to rewrite "accepted rules" and find new avenues to empower billions of people to thrive. This book will help readers to discern the difference between disruption and transformation.
The reader will come away from this book with a deeply intuitive and highly contextual understanding of the core technological advances transforming the world as we know it. Beyond this, the reader will clearly appreciate the future impacts on our economies and social structures. Most importantly, the reader will receive an insightful and actionable set of guidelines to assist them in harnessing the Fourth Industrial Revolution so that both they and their communities may flourish.
The authors do not primarily seek to make prescriptions for government policy, but rather to speak directly to people about what they can do for themselves, their families, and their communities to be future-proofed and ready to adapt to life in a rapidly evolving world ecosystem.
Author(s): Nicholas Johnson, Brendan Markey-Towler
Series: Innovation and Technology Horizons
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2020
Language: English
Pages: 212
City: London
Cover
Half Title
Series
Title
Copyright
Contents
List of figures
Acknowledgments
1 Introduction: how and why to understand the Fourth Industrial Revolution
1 Our approach to the economics of the Fourth Industrial Revolution
2 A preview of our arguments
References
Part I Industrial revolutions: what they are, why they matter, how to analyse them
2 Industrial revolutions past, present, and future: a brief overview of how we got here and where we’re going
1 From economic stagnation to economic growth
2 Malthusian dynamics and the pre-growth era
3 The industrial revolution: the first
4 The technological revolution: the second
5 The digital revolution: the third
6 The Fourth Industrial Revolution
References
3 The telos of industrial revolutions: how what people value drives the adoption of new technologies
1 Means, ends, and value
2 A hierarchy of value
3 Industrial revolutions promote higher-order values
References
4 The “Brisbane Club” model: mind, society, economy as complex evolving networks
1 Society and economy as complex evolving networks
2 Formation of socioeconomic systems: environment, mind, and socioeconomy
3 Evolution of socioeconomic systems: changing environments, changing minds, changing technologies
4 Micro-meso-macro: new ways of doing things cause disruption, then re-coordination
5 Summary: applying the Brisbane Club model to the mega-technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution
Technical appendix
References
Part II Internet: hyper-competition, hyper-growth, and the struggle for attention in global markets
5 Global markets and the struggle for attention: communication and platforms in the rapidly-evolving internet age
1 The internet: a remarkable data-transfer technology
2 Why the internet matters: platforms for socioeconomic interaction on a global scale
3 The struggle for attention in the internet: cognitive constraints in a sea of information
4 Disruption and re-coordination as global markets emerge: a hyper-charged economy
5 Summary: global markets and the struggle for attention present opportunities to be seized and challenges to be mitigated
Technical appendix
References
6 The ocean in your pocket: case studies in global markets and the struggle for attention
1 The smartphone and wearable technology
2 Education applications
3 Entertainment applications
4 Text and voice: from reading and typing to listening and speaking
5 A tool for democratisation? Who controls the flows?
6 Competing platforms, fragmentation, and the market for marketplaces
References
Part III Artificial intelligence: radical automation and expansion of human capability
7 The I, Robot future: human work in an age of artificial intelligence
1 The machine with a mind: what artificial intelligence is
2 The economics of a machine with a mind: building a substitute for us
3 The economic limits of artificial intelligence: where machines are non-substitutable for human labour
4 Disruption and re-coordination as I, Robot rises: part utopia, part plutocracy
5 Summary: human work in an age of artificial intelligence presents challenges, but also profound opportunities
Technical appendix
References
8 The ghost and the machine: case studies in the I, Robot future
1 Automation, capital, and labour
2 Prediction and contingency planning
3 Comparative advantages of human and machine prediction
4 Supply chain optimization
References
Part IV Blockchain: decentralising power, authority, and the design of systems of governance
9 The entrepreneurship of rules: institutions in an age of blockchain
1 The ledger of facts: the blockchain as a foundation for privatised institutional governance of platforms
2 Adopting a privatised platform with institutional governance: substitution between rule systems
3 Disruption and re-coordination as privatised institutional governance emerges: a new era for community-based solutions
4 Summary: the entrepreneurship of rules faces significant challenges, but also presents extraordinary opportunities
Technical appendix
References
10 Leaderless revolutions: case studies in the entrepreneurship of rules
1 Coordination, rules, governance, law, and order
2 Alternative governance structures for institutions
3 Some promising applications for blockchains
References
Part V Discussion and conclusions: harnessing the Fourth Industrial Revolution in systems building
11 The new economy: opportunities, challenges, and what to do about them
1 The new economy: global markets and the struggle for attention, utopia with a hint of plutocracy, and privatised rules
2 Opportunities and challenges in the new economy
3 Strategies for seizing opportunities and mitigating challenges
4 Summary: opportunities and challenges in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and what to do about them
References
12 Epilogue: a call to engage with a brave new world, and to have contingency plans
References
Index
