World-renowned economist Klaus Schwab Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic
Forum explains that we have an opportunity to shape the fourth industrial revolution which
will fundamentally alter how we live and work. Schwab argues that this revolution is
different in scale scope and complexity from any that have come before. Characterized by a
range of new technologies that are fusing the physical digital and biological worlds the
developments are affecting all disciplines economies industries and governments and even
challenging ideas about what it means to be human. Artificial intelligence is already all
around us from supercomputers drones and virtual assistants to 3D printing DNA sequencing
smart thermostats wearable sensors and microchips smaller than a grain of sand. But this is
just the beginning: nanomaterials 200 times stronger than steel and a million times thinner
than a strand of hair and the first transplant of a 3D printed liver are already in
development. Imagine "smart factories" in which global systems of manufacturing are
coordinated virtually or implantable mobile phones made of biosynthetic materials. The
fourth industrial revolution says Schwab is more significant and its ramifications more
profound than in any prior period of human history. He outlines the key technologies
driving this revolution and discusses the major impacts expected on government business civil
society and individuals. Schwab also offers bold ideas on how to harness these changes and
shape a better future-one in which technology empowers people rather than replaces them
progress serves society rather than disrupts it and in which innovators respect moral and
ethical boundaries rather than cross them. We all have the opportunity to contribute to
developing new frameworks that advance progress.
