The Electrified Third “Data” Rail — How Data is Powering the Fourth Industrial Revolution
The world is collectively embarking on a collision course with the Fourth Industrial Revolution, powered by a new source of ‘energy’, a new ‘fuel source’: data. Unlike the previous Industrial Revolutions which were powered by steam, electricity, and combinations of automation or mechanization or computerization, the next wave of revolution will be accomplished via data, the translation of data into information, and ultimately contextualizing that information to turn it into knowledge. The Fourth Industrial Revolution, also called Internet 4.0, will be solely powered by the explosion of data which will ultimately feed into technologies and constructs such as Internet of Things (IoT), AI & Machine Learning, and Blockchain — all with the intent of making useful sense of the deluge of data.
The data tracks the have been laid in the previous wave of digitization (Third Industrial Revolution) still remain, but the Fourth Industrial Revolution will be electrified and truly come to fruition by the proverbial ‘third rail’: turning data into a powerful commodity — as powerful as steam, electricity, coal, and oil in the traditional economy.
The Data Dump
Right now, the world is generating a literal mountain, a Mount Everest, of data every day…
