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Local implications of the fourth industrial revolution

Sibahle Malinga
By Sibahle Malinga, ITWeb senior news journalist.
Johannesburg, 22 Jun 2017
Mymoena Ismail, CEO of NEMISA.
Mymoena Ismail, CEO of NEMISA.

Google searches on the fourth industrial revolution in SA skyrocketed in May, reflecting the local interest in the topic.

This was the word from Mymoena Ismail, CEO of the National Electronic Media Institute of SA, speaking at the Vision 2030 Summit yesterday in Johannesburg. Ismail discussed the fourth industrial revolution and its implications for SA.

The question is what is the fourth industrial revolution and where are we in SA?

"The fourth industrial revolution is about the convergence of different technologies seamlessly merging with physical, digital and biological spheres that have an impact on socio-economic factors in our society. We see the use of robotics and Bitcoin coming into play. We've also seen crowdfunding, crowdsourcing and the Internet of things also coming into the equation.

"As we write all about these new technologies, we are seeing new products and services, such as Uber, Airbnb as well as Facebook, emerging as new services of this fourth industrial revolution," she pointed out.

The evolution from the first industrial revolution started with the hydraulic and pneumatic devices used to power various mechanical actions, right through to the rise of artificial intelligence robotics. But what is more important, explained Ismail, is not just the timelines but the degree of complexity of these emerging revolutions.

"What this means is that industrial revolution is going to require good governance, but more importantly, it's going to require skilled people in order for SA to compete globally and prevail. We need to move away from being consumers of technology and services, and actually start looking at ways to be innovators - an opportunity for SA to exploit."

The fourth industrial revolution is disruptive, and it is changing the way that we are doing things, she continued.

"Fortunately, it's impacting all societies. It's not unaccepted and it's not just for the ICT sector and therefore what is important for countries or organisations as well as communities, is the prioritisation of skills."

Discussing its impact on SA, Ismail explained there are advantages, but there are also risks accompanied by the fourth industrial revolution.

"From an advantages perspective, there will be increased connectivity, communication, efficiency, improving lives, new opportunities. From a risks perspective, if we don't take the opportunity to adapt, we are going to fall behind and we are going to be overtaken by those who move much faster than we do. The rest of the disadvantages are that we don't have the necessary skills to employ the technology, which poses a risk for our country as well as our society."

Ismail referenced a Cisco report, which reveals there are about 19.7 billion online cyber risks globally per day.

"Cyber security is going to be controlled on airspace - we have to look in terms of mainstreaming our ICT and integration projects, and services need to focus on increasing such projects. More importantly, we have to address our e-skills beyond capital development. Whilst we're doing good in some instances on our Web e-learning strategies, we're lagging behind in our e-skills development space," she concluded.

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