4IR: Not the Robot Apocalypse

Or maybe it is. What do I know?

This blog is the first in a series that will help distinguish 4IR in general, and in Africa in particular. This is the foundational article.

Everyone Loves 4IR

Everyone is talking about the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). Nobody knows exactly what it is, but we do know its source. In 2011, the German government launched the concept of “Industrie 4.0” at the Hannover Trade Fair. This was the first time such a term had been put into play. It was more than four years later, in December 2015, when Klaus Schwab, World Economic Forum Executive Chairman, published an article in Foreign Affairsmagazine entitled “The Fourth Industrial Revolution: What it Means and How to Respond.”

Now “4IR” is everywhere. If you as a business do not have a 4IR strategy, you are already what seems like light years behind. This is also true in Africa, particularly in South Africa, Rwanda, Uganda, and Kenya.

This has to be one of the fastest meme spreads in history. Let’s be clear on this. 4IR as a TERM was spread intentionally. Did a niche and somewhat curmudgeonly publication like Foreign Affairsmagazine cause this concept to get sent around so aggressively? Of course not. The World Economic Forum did. Who needs social media when you are running the…