Look out of your window today and you might not realise it but the world is in the midst of a revolution.
Things might appear totally normal. People are still commuting to and from work, shops remain open for business, and communication lines are functioning as they should. But we are actually living through the early stages of the Fourth Industrial Revolution which is sometimes also known as Industry 4.0.  Â
Coined in 2016 by the founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum Klaus Schwab, the term refers to new technologies becoming intertwined with our day-to-day lives and how they will connect us, our bodies and our buildings like never before. While it is the sci-fi nature of AI and robotics that grabs the headlines, the key to their success is the data that they rely on to work.
All three previous industrial revolutions have been characterised by massive changes to the way the world works. Whether it was the Agrarian Age changing the way we farm and feed, the Industrial Age transforming manufacturing, or the Information Age spawning rapid advances in computing and digital systems, each one has led to an increase in how much data we generate as a species.
Now, as we enter the Analytics Age, we finally have the tools to make sense of it all and potentially solve any problem the world has ever faced. But there are reasons to be cautious too.
Not every change brought about by the previous industrial revolutions has been a benefit to all, with the new developments initially limited to those with the necessary money to invest, leading to a polarisation of wealth and power.
Technology has moved so quickly in recent years that a digital divide has opened up, and with unprecedented automation in particular set to alter the landscape like never before, there are similar fears that the Fourth Industrial Revolution will actually increase inequality in a world already plagued by it.Â
Of course, it doesn’t need to be that way. These new technologies have the potential to kickstart economies and improve lives worldwide – so how do we stop people and businesses from getting left behind?
Data now informs all kinds of areas of the modern world, with good use of it leading to better decision-making and more profitable businesses. Data literacy should therefore be treated as a crucial skill for pretty much everyone. That does not mean everyone needs to become a qualified data scientist. But for companies to successfully implement digital transformation initiatives, they must first focus on building a culture of data literacy within their company.
