The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) characterised the rise of intelligent, inter-connected systems – human productivity and creativity augmented by high-speed communication, Internet (with its three generations of evolution in as many decades, integrating every aspect of business, commerce and human interactions), software pervading and embedding every type of hardware, and autonomous, Machine Learning / AI based systems.
The congruence of communication, software and hardware enabled a new way of using ‘machines’ – centralising on large networks (Cloud) as well as miniaturising at the point of engagement (Edge). It still keeps us, Humans, at the top of design and development.
But increasingly, as AL/ML and computational technologies advance exponentially, more and more cognitive functions are being built into machines. The end of the 4IR era will surface both evolutionary as well as ethical dilemmas – what next for human beings and will it be ‘right’ and ‘good’ for humanity?
The 5th Industrial Revolution (5IR) will be characterised by an unprecedented amalgamation of 5 critical advances in science and technology: Material Sciences, Energy Sources, Genetic Engineering, Quantum Computing and Artificial Intelligence.
How will the world look like in 5IR? Quite an open canvas to imagine and paint scenarios but these 10 aspects certainly will be spotlights of a new world order in 5IR:
1. Humans and machines will be equal co-workers, at Singularity, with transferable skills and knowledge (of course sans ‘conscience’ and ‘consciousness’ which is more of an AGI realm; a theme we will revisit).
2. Robots or digital sentient machines that understand human emotions, enabled with Cognitive intelligence, will be ubiquitous both in industries as well as individual lives.
3. Human-centred and humanity-focused innovation will drive social structures, people engagement and human values. Legal and policy implementations will be fast, transparent and authoritative.
4. Every product, service, engagement and experience will be personalised and virtualised, even at mass scale.
5. Human Neural Network (HNN) will be real; Brain to Brain connectivity and transfer of information and experience will enable instantaneous learning.
6. Intelligent Nano Robots will pervade medicines and healthcare systems – every disease will have an programmable ammunition to counter, with adaptable information fusing with genetic engineering.
7. Immersive experience and living in virtual imaginary worlds will become the new reality, a simulated world in a matrix, a Multi-Metaverse.
8. Education will be programmed, universally accessible virtually across metaverses and customised to every individual – teaching will be less about instructions and information and more about immersive, experiential co-learning in order to evolve and transform to Humans 2.0 – a new sentient being that will have best of computing and goodness/evil of humanity.
9. Quantum computing will enable humans to reimagine space, the Universe itself and other worlds, without having to physically travel. Space travel will be faster with Qbit-powered engines and material that will adapt to any conditions and human genomics that will transcend today’s biological and bio-chemical limitations.
10. 3D Printed material, plants as well as organs transplantation, will create new food, medical and humanitarian possibilities, with massive transformational impact on physical abilities.
Most of the above today seem like science fiction – and they have been fictionalised rather ‘scientifically’ in the last 5 decades – and from the next decade, 2030’s, these will start getting normalised. The building blocks of each of these technologies already exist today are being tested in discrete use cases. So, ‘science fiction’ will have to be redefined, perhaps expanding in the realms of time-travel and teleportation etc – the next horizon of imagination, and perhaps necessity for Humans 3.0 to become inter-planetary migrant species.
NTAK
Ruminations & Illuminations. NTAK 