The Fourth Industrial Revolution has made some rather exciting promises to society: More streamlined business practices, services that can be customised to the need of every individual, and technologies that deliver such great energy, water, and resource efficiencies that sustainability will be ingrained in the way people work and live.
But between today’s world and this promised future is a wide chasm of new hardware and software that needs to be integrated into the digital landscape and built environment. The skills that are taught to students and workers will need to evolve to keep up with this technology revolution, and business models will need to adapt to emerging opportunities and challenges.
And of course, there is the economics of it. The World Economic Forum estimates that digitalisation could add US$100 trillion of value to society over the next decade; but major investments are needed to unlock this.
To discuss how the Fourth Industrial Revolution will be delivered, we spoke to Alpesh Patel, director of the Digital Capability Centre at McKinsey Singapore. A former aerodynamicist at Ferrari, Patel’s work focuses on the development of cutting-edge knowledge in various topics related to Industry 4.0, such as design, advanced analytics, and digital technology.
Tune in as we discuss questions such as:
- What will a post-Fourth Industrial Revolution world look like? What work will we do, what will we be studying, and how will society be organised?
- What risks and opportunities should businesses, governments, and communities keep an eye on as the digital revolution progresses?
- What economic benefits can digitisation deliver to Asia, and where will countries in the region get the financing required to capitalise on this?
Shownotes
- Natsu Foods is an example of a sushi chain that uses a machine-learning algorithm-based solution to carry out demand planning, so that it can reduce food waste.
- McKinsey’s Industry 4.0: Reinvigorating ASEAN manufacturing for the future report, which is mentioned at the 15-minute mark, has now been published.
