The 4IR: Surviving the Era of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence

By Thapelo Sekwena

"You cannot wait until a house burns down to buy fire insurance on it. We cannot wait until there are massivie dislocations in our society to prepare for the Fourth Industrial Revolution."

Robert J. Sheller, 2013 Nobel Laureate in Economics

The Era of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics is here - and it is shaking the world to its core. Companies are restructuring in line with the latest technologies and much traditional employment is falling away. People are confused because they are frightened for their livelihoods going forward. But the truth is that the Fourth Industrial Revolution - 4IR - offers many opportunities for those willing to understand the latest technological trends and embrace the changes.

The author is a winner of the Johannesburg Geojozi Developers Challenge and a Computer Science and Mathematics graduate of North West University and gives direction on how people can position and prepare themselves for 4IR. Who will be most affected? how can we embrace this change and thrive? What skills do we need to win?

South African stories like those of DJSbu and Theo Baloyi are used to illustrate the great potential that 4IR can bring.

If they can adapt and succeed, then what's stopping you?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thapelo Sekwena
• Release date: Jan 9, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393357032

Book preview

Preface

Iam extremely excited to have completed writing The 4IR:  Surviving the Era of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence. The journey has not been easy since I started the project in 2018. I knew I wanted to share a book of this nature but with my full-time work, business, personal life and studies I kept on getting derailed. Now that it is here, I believe it will bring you the same excitement I had when I started writing it.

This book attempts to recap history, to show how humans progresses from living largely quiet, rural, isolated lives to surfing the internet super-highway in a short few hundred years; from a world where most of the population was engaged in subsistence agriculture to one where many people earn a living directly within technological constructs.

It addresses industrial revolution as an ongoing phenomenon historically and then zooms in on the fourth industrial revolution (4IR), which is where we are now. I explain how 4IR is evolving and I aim to assist people in taking advantage of the unique time we find ourselves in and how to position yourself and prepare for the future.  Then I look at who will be affected most by this revolution and which changes will occur across different industries.

The 4IR: Surviving the Era of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence is designed for students, young professionals, entrepreneurs and industry leaders. It includes stories about ordinary South Africans such as Dr Esther Mahlangu, Professor Tshilidzi Marwala Sbusiso Leope (Dj Sbu)  and Theo Baloyi who have shown the leadership required to embrace this revolution and are doing exceptionally well.

The 4IR is full opportunities and possibilities. I hope you find them and find yourself in this book. Enjoy!

Thapelo Sekwena

October 30 2019

Introduction

‘The question is not am I going to be disrupted but when is disruption coming, what form will it take and how will it affect me and my organisation?’

– Klaus Schwab

As an inevitable trait in human nature, the fear of change or failure remains a huge factor in slow development or lack of progress in businesses, personal development, relationships, education and in many other aspects of society.

In this age, fear of modern technology (technophobia) is so rife that we have accepted mediocrity or average performance as the new distinction and exceptional performance is genuinely rare. In most cases, this phobia is unreasonable and irrational to the point that it hinders the victim’s normal operation of life in the digital age.

I believe you know of people who are so afraid of technology that they completely avoid making mobile payments (EFTs) or using ATMs because they fear entering an incorrect amount or that the machine will not count the money correctly. The truth is that they’re much more likely to be robbed of cash on the street. Other people believe tech devices can be rejected with a simple, yet unfounded statement, that they create more harm than good. The common belief is that technology or technological advancements will result in many job losses in the near future, that the fourth industrial revolution is here to take our livelihoods away and that robots are here to replace us. THIS IS NOT TRUE AND I WILL TELL YOU WHY.

The truth is that people held the same human fears when the first, second and third industrial revolutions gained momentum, without really trying to understand these phenomena with their new technologies and the positive effects they had on people around the world. A lot of those against the changes new technologies bring see the current revolution and the upcoming ones as a threat to human lives and are trying, by all means, to paint the fourth industrial revolution with dark colours.

In fact, nothing ever turned out as badly as it initially seemed – quite the opposite. Technology unlocks untapped areas of human creativity. If we introduce a robot to do menial jobs, we are leaving complex issues and more meaningful tasks to human beings. The society, households, industries, government and the world at large has benefited and certainly received more good than bad from these advancements.

CHAPTER ONE

The First Three Revolutions

‘In the age of distraction, nothing is so luxurious as paying attention. And in an age of constant movement, nothing is so urgent as sitting still’

– Pico Iyer

IN THIS first chapter, we look at the first three industrial revolutions, the industries and technologies they brought in, the fears around them, how they were used, and how they have contributed positively to the world. This gives us a grounding to explore the current situation. Later on, we will look at the current revolution, the fourth industrial revolution, and find out more about South African entrepreneurs who have already taken advantage of 4IR and its technologies. Finally, I explain the reasons why I say: the 4IR is not here to harm us and robots won’t replace us.

The First Industrial Revolution

The first industrial revolution changed the way goods were produced from human labour to machines. It is generally defined as the revolution of the transport, communication and manufacturing industries. When the first major cross-industry inventions were made, which were around steam and electrical power, the demand for metals and minerals grew exponentially. The revolution snowballed. As inventions were put into use, further improvements were continually required and so new inventions came along.

Below is a list of some of the industries that were revolutionised at this time with technologies that are still in use in the world today.

Textlies (Fabrics and clothing)

The textile industry was the first to be Industrialised; humans had been using hand-operated looms for millennia so the invention of a home-based machine in 1765 that threaded eight times faster than  the old hand-done method was a spectacular advancement. Shortly after that, a water-powered spinning machine was invented which was beyond the scope of home-based industry and gave birth to the creation of factories.

In the textile factories in England, a water-powered device that automatically and quickly wove thread into cloth was introduced. This was followed by a device that could separate raw cotton and seeds, increasing the cotton supply and reducing costs. Finally, in 1846, an American by the name of Elias Howe introduced us to the sewing machine, which greatly improved the speed of sewing and stitching. Humanity would never be the same again and the diversification and scope of the industry over time is staggering. Today, most countries have thriving textile industries and China in particular, produces enormous quantities of textiles for export all over the world.

Communications

In the communications industry, around the year 1844, an American, Samuel F.B. Morse, introduced