Society has developed a lot since its formation. Before that it was just cavemen and what not. But once humans were on a path of communication and working together, development was sure. From agricultural revolution to the industrial revolutions, mankind took big leaps and today, we are in an era of the fourth industrial and blockchain revolution.
What is the Fourth Industrial Revolution?
The fourth industrial revolution, also known as the 4IR, is basically the dawn of a new age, where the new technologies are supposedly going to take humanity into the future. Based on cloud computing, big data, Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality and the Internet of Things (IoT), the fourth industrial revolution has just begun and offers an unimaginable range of business opportunities.
How is the Blockchain technology exactly a part of 4IR?
The blockchain technology is also considered a fundamental part of 4IR, especially when it comes to the monitor and verify financial transactions. It is an excellent toolkit to combat corruption and establish transparency regarding origin and source of goods and materials within complex and transnational supply chain networks. It is therefore expected to assume the role where it makes everything more comprehensible and economic favorable, like in the precious stones or gold trade. It is a very sharp sword against the ever present temptations of corruptions , only that it is bound to win in this battle.
How is the fourth industrial revolution going to change our world?
Just as our history has shown us many times, with the invention of world changing technology, a new era of prosperity begins, from which a major part of humanity benefits. Likewise, 4IR has already started to change the world for the better, and it’s projected that the curve of development will increase exponentially in the incoming years. With better computing power at hand, we have made cloud computing possible and easily accessible, while connections like 5G are connecting everything around us through IoT. Blockchain applications like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Monero and other Crypto – projects are changing the traditional financial economy in a very fast pace we speak and expand the range of alternative financial goods and services for the public.
AI alongside AR will result in ambitious projects like Metaverse and much more. All of this translates to a world which is more connected, where life is easier for many humans and everything is in the palm of your hands.
The Effects of Fourth Industrial Revolution on Society and Culture
No matter how absurd the talks of outlook to you because people seem to base it on science fiction movies, there does seem a little bit of truth in it. Cryptocurrency, which is the only thing that currently comes to mind when someone says blockchain, has changed everything we currently knew about money and currency. Right here, we have is a real decentralized system, i.e., it is not controlled by a government body or entity.
And that’s why people have been investing more and more in them because it seems like a good way to do some trading and get benefit from it. Its not something limited to the elite, rather to everyone who has internet access and knows how to use it. As we can see, there are benefits for society in general from adopting decentralized systems.
Similarly, a newer business model based on blockchain was developed and found a widespread worldwide adaption that goes by the name of NFT.
What is NFT?
A non-fungible token (NFT) uses the technology of blockchain to create something that is unique in the digital world. The meaning of fungible describes items that are the exact equal value and interchangeable with each other for example, One Dollar is the same as One dollar. So Non-fungible more or less means that it’s unique and can’t be replaced with something else. Something like a one-of-a-kind trading card, a gem, or an oil painting
is considered non-fungible.
This technology also gives the public a chance to discover new avenues for a living and improve the status of their livelihood. Indeed, transparency has been made possible through blockchain, as the information of the person who owned either crypto or NFT is stored on it and is almost impossible to change.
If we look on the health side, IoT and smart city concepts are surely going to make the lives of humans significantly better in the coming years. With devices able to monitor heart rate and ECG incorporated into wearables, an ambulance could be called for in minutes incase the person stops breathing, into shock or gets a cardiac arrest. Meanwhile, the ambulance itself would be so equipped and could be controlled remotely in real time owing to 5G.
Acceptance of the industrial revolution among the masses
While the examples given above have just scratched only the surface, there are still so many aspects of the industrial revolution, which are impending and are definitely going to change the world for the better. However, the question arises that are people going to accept all the fast changes that are coming so quickly into our lives? The answer to that is very subjective, but that does not mean it is not true. We know that it took a lot of time for people to get used to telephones. Then came the television, and there were still people who thought of it as magic and wouldn’t use it. But as time progressed and education was imparted to the masses, the acceptance of newer technology increased exponentially. And now we see that whenever there is an announcement that something new is going to change our lives, we see a great many number of people understanding how it will be better for us. Of course, there are always people who will be critical and be afraid of the unknown, but that too is necessary because it will keep everything in check.
In a nutshell,
The fourth industrial revolution has just only begun, and while many may argue that it is an extension of the third, it does not really matter. What matters is how it is going to shape the society and change the way we think. With AI working, making sense out of data and IoT making our world smarter, we can see signs that there is hope for generations to come.