The Fourth Industrial Revolution

The Fourth Industrial Revolution, 4IR, or Industry 4.0,[1] conceptualizes rapid change to technology, industries, and societal patterns and processes in the 21st century due to increasing interconnectivity and smart automation. The term has been used widely in scientific literature,[2] and in 2015 was popularized by Klaus Schwab, the World Economic Forum Founder and Executive Chairman. Schwab asserts that the changes seen are more than just improvements to efficiency, but express a significant shift in industrial capitalism.[3] A part of this phase of industrial change is the joining of technologies like artificial intelligence, gene editing, to advanced robotics that blur the lines between the physical, digital, and biological worlds.[3][4] Throughout this, fundamental shifts are taking place in how the global production and supply network operates through ongoing automation of traditional manufacturing and industrial practices, using modern smart technolog...