The Fourth Industrial Revolution, Industry 4; The Second Machine Age, The Knowledge Revolution, Life 3.0, Society 5.0, are terms now familiar to most people, but are the implications of this “Brave New World” understood? More specifically, what impact will they have for geologists and the way geology is taught and practised; or will geologists just fade away, a quaint practice associated with a primitive past?
The term “Fourth Industrial Revolution”, which is used in this article, was first defined by Klaus Schwab, the founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF), in 2015 and later was used as the title of his 2016 book The Fourth Industrial Revolution.
So, what is the Fourth Industrial Revolution and in what way could this impact geology? Simply put, the Fourth Industrial Revolution will integrate apparently disparate sciences and activities, mainly as a result of the advances made in computer processing speed, data storage and communications technology, but also from the integration of apparently disparate ontologies, resulting in new fields of study such as medical geology, geomicrobiology, and geobotany. However, how will the Fourth Industrial Revolution distinguish itself from the industrial revolutions that have preceded it (Table 1)?
Number | First name | Last name | Email address |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Anne | Evans | anne.evans@mail.com |
2 | Bill | Fernandez | bill.fernandez@mail.com |
3 | Candice | Gates | candice.gates@mail.com |
4 | Dave | Hill | dave.hill@mail.com |
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