Klaus Schwab, the founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF), created the phrase “Fourth Industrial Revolution” in his 2016 book with the same title. He envisioned a world in which the convergence of our physical, digital, and biological realities would revolutionise businesses and communities. This revolution, he understood, has the potential to alter every part of our lives drastically. However, when we see the exponential pace of technological development, it is evident that we are no longer just experiencing an industrial transition. We are entering the Intelligent Age, which goes well beyond technology alone. This is a sociological upheaval with the potential to both elevate and split humanity.
The Intelligent Age, powered by fast advances in artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing, and blockchain, is reshaping and changing everything in real-time. These merging technologies are altering the very fabric of our civilisation, necessitating rapid adaptation and worldwide collaboration. This transition to progress rather than divide society must go beyond technological advancements to improve human potential. We must produce environmental, social, and geopolitical information and technical knowledge.
The growing struggle between global powers for economic security and leadership has resulted in a highly fragmented global economy. Countries are progressively implementing trade barriers such as tariffs, technical decoupling, and money flow disruption, and these trends show no indications of slowing. This occurs amid rising geopolitical tensions and a general move towards multipolarity. The economic implications of fragmentation are considerable, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projecting that more significant international trade restrictions might reduce world production by up to 7% in the long run, totalling $7.4 trillion.
However, this economic splintering coincides with a tremendous chance to begin developing far more productive, inclusive, and sustainable economies worldwide. Such intelligent economies are built on exponential technological breakthroughs, including digital, energy, and biotechnology. Today’s challenge for all stakeholders is to find strategies to maximise the growth advantages of this innovation momentum while minimising the impact of fragmentation. More innovative communication and collaboration are urgently needed to grab this opportunity and avoid sliding into a “Tepid Twenties” typified by poor growth and growing debt issues, as stated by IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva earlier this year.
THE INTELLIGENT AGE IS UPON US
Artificial intelligence and automation are already transforming whole sectors. In healthcare, AI-powered solutions outperform humans to the advantage of patients. In diagnostics, AI assists clinicians in making more accurate judgements, searching through massive databases to uncover novel medications, and establishing personalised treatment regimens based on genetic information. Farmers use artificial intelligence to optimise agricultural yields, while manufacturers use intelligent systems to increase supply chain efficiency and waste reduction. Even banking, one of the most conservative businesses, is being disrupted by AI-powered algorithms that forecast market moves with greater precision and speed.
However, there are certain possible drawbacks and hazards. Automation is expected to replace millions of jobs. Although it will bring new possibilities, we must guarantee that regulations, education systems, and social safety nets are in place to assist individuals in transitioning to new professions. The economic gains of these transitions must be broadly distributed to prevent increasing inequities that endanger social cohesion. The Intelligent Age is also changing the way we live. Cities are growing smarter, with sensors and AI controlling everything from traffic flow to energy use. These smart cities and the smart houses inside them are more efficient and sustainable, lowering carbon emissions while boosting quality of life. With the emergence of the metaverse and virtual worlds, the distinction between digital and physical is becoming increasingly hazy. Virtual places are emerging where individuals may work, socialise, and even own digital assets, ushering in new economic and social interactions. This transition to a mixed reality may significantly influence how we define personal space, property, and community.
The technologies fuelling the next wave of economic activity and growth have triggered substantial policy adjustments due to the high risks of capturing those fast-rising markets. Moving forward, there is a strong need to balance the opposing imperatives of sovereignty and security on the one hand and openness and interoperability on the other.
Restricting the transfer of critical, cutting-edge technology just as these industries begin to thrive has global repercussions. The IMF has forecasted that a hi-tech decoupling (including energy systems) might cost 1.2% of international and 1.5% of Asian GDP. While acknowledging the value of these technologies on a national scale, it is critical to maintain some degree of open innovation and cooperation in this crucial moment. These principles have previously been used to decrease costs and bring inventions to market effectively. Ensuring interoperability, or developing systems that can work together rather than competing and segregated systems, will allow us to reap the full advantages of these advancements. Of course, moving beyond interoperability to coordination and collaboration will expand specific prospects.
SOCIAL, GEOPOLITICAL, TECHNOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL INTELLIGENCE
The massive energy needs of these emerging technologies, particularly in areas like bitcoin mining and AI computation, should cause us to stop. It must be balanced with the development of renewable energy alternatives. Environmental intelligence ensures that the Intelligent Age does not aggravate climate change or deplete natural resources but helps us mitigate ecological hazards and develop more sustainable economies.
The Intelligent Age is profoundly changing how we communicate both with one another and the environment around us. AI is advancing instantaneous and worldwide communication by allowing real-time translation between languages, autonomous content development, and hyper-personalized communications according to individual tastes and behaviours. AI-powered platforms influence much of our communication, whether through social media algorithms that determine what information we see or virtual assistants that manage our schedules and conversations. As these systems get more advanced, they will progressively influence the flow of information in society, raising serious concerns about bias and inaccuracy.
As we transfer more decision-making power to algorithms, we risk increasing societal differences if the systems are created without justice, inclusivity, and a fundamental grasp of what it means to be human. Social intelligence entails comprehending the larger societal implications of technology and ensuring that the Intelligent Age promotes more inclusion and equity rather than further separation and polarisation.
With the advent of the Intelligent Age, we face tremendous potential and unprecedented hazards. To navigate this new period responsibly, we must coordinate global efforts from all sectors of society. Policymakers must act rapidly to create legislation ensuring that AI, quantum computing, and blockchain are utilised responsibly and for the benefit of everybody. Education institutions must develop to educate future generations for a world of work in which many old professions are no longer available. New positions emerge that demand utterly different skill sets. Businesses must reconsider their models to ensure they adapt to the dynamism of the Intelligent Age while also creating an environment that does not leave workers and entire segments of society behind.
To achieve this effectively, we require geopolitical knowledge to traverse the changing geographies of global power. AI in space exploration has already raised new security concerns and possible conflicts. Geopolitical intelligence entails understanding how technology interacts with global power dynamics and encouraging collaboration over rivalry.
BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE
Intelligent economies should benefit both people and our society, with technological improvements affecting everything from employment, skills, and income distribution to healthcare, education, and public services. One of the most pressing effects is the requirement to reskill and upskill the global workforce to fulfil the expectations of the future economy. According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report, published last year, technologies are predicted to disrupt 44% of workers’ essential abilities over the next five years, resulting in a 23% structural labour market churn. A mix of public policy and private sector measures will be required to ensure that technological developments result in a substantial net-positive outcome for workers regarding productivity increases and overall employment growth.
Similarly, these advances must convert into actual momentum and increased efforts to minimise the effects of climate change and ensure a nature-positive future. The World Economic Forum is committed to moving this work forward through initiatives such as the Jobs Consortium and Reskilling Revolution, which aim to transform skills and create good jobs around the world, and the First Movers Coalition, which uses corporate climate commitments to drive demand and adoption of emerging climate technologies.
UNLOCKING THE ENERGY TECH CONVERGENCE
Much work remains to be done to achieve the energy transition; global efforts have been impeded by a slew of geopolitical and socioeconomic challenges at a time when action is most required. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) estimates that an annual expenditure of $5 trillion in energy transition technologies would be necessary to restrict world average temperature rise to 1.5°C. This will necessitate a threefold increase in renewable energy while doubling energy efficiency.
Today’s technical breakthroughs may provide the necessary impetus to achieve these goals. These innovations range from intelligent infrastructure networks to CO2 capture technologies, the development of hydrogen fuel cells to replace traditional power generation, scientific breakthroughs in nuclear fusion as a long-term energy solution, and the scaling of sustainable aviation fuel as part of the sector’s greening, to name a few. These inventions will create new employment and economic sectors while directly contributing to the global energy transition—a goal that all countries must work towards together. We can only handle complex and critical concerns by connecting the dots across sectors and continents. Finding methods to accomplish this is critical to reviving the global economy in this new era.
COLLABORATION FOR THE INTELLIGENT AGE
Global collaboration is required to guide this change in a constructive direction. We must establish international frameworks for regulating AI and new technologies, encourage the proper use of data, and ensure that all nations, regardless of development level, have a say in defining the future.
We’ve already passed the barrier into the Intelligent Age. Technology is up to us to decide whether technology will lead to a future of more equality, sustainability, and collaboration or if it will exacerbate existing disparities. The window of opportunity is tight, but with collaborative action and responsible leadership, we can realise the potential of this new century and create a society that benefits everyone.
Auhtor- Amar Chowdhury
