Technology And Development In The Third Industrial Revolution

First published in 1989, Technology and Development in the Third Industrial Revolution is a significant contribution to history.

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.

The Industrial Revolution, powered by oil and other fossil fuels, is spiraling into a dangerous endgame. The price of gas and food are climbing, unemployment remains high, the housing market has tanked, consumer and government debt is soaring, and the recovery is slowing. Facing the prospect of a second collapse of the global economy, humanity is desperate for a sustainable economic game plan to take us into the future. Here, Jeremy Rifkin explores how Internet technology and renewable energy are merging to create a powerful "Third Industrial Revolution." He asks us to imagine hundreds of millions of people producing their own green energy in their homes, offices, and factories, and sharing it with each other in an "energy internet," just like we now create and share information online. Rifkin describes how the five-pillars of the Third Industrial Revolution will create thousands of businesses, millions of jobs, and usher in a fundamental reordering of human relationships, from hierarchical to lateral power, that will impact the way we conduct commerce, govern society, educate our children, and engage in civic life. Rifkin's vision is already gaining traction in the international community. The European Union Parliament has issued a formal declaration calling for its implementation, and other nations in Asia, Africa, and the Americas, are quickly preparing their own initiatives for transitioning into the new economic paradigm. The Third Industrial Revolution is an insider's account of the next great economic era, including a look into the personalities and players — heads of state, global CEOs, social entrepreneurs, and NGOs — who are pioneering its implementation around the world.

In this text the author argues that rapid technological change, sluggish real wage growth, and widening inequality have characterized earlier periods of economic growth of revolutionary new technologies.

Asks whether and to what effect the widespread adoption of digital technology has led to large-scale or structural economic changes in business.

"The essays in this volume probe the impact the digital revolution has had, or sometimes failed to have, on global business. Has digital technology, the authors ask, led to structural changes and greater efficiency and innovation? While most of the essays support the idea that the information age has increased productivity in global business, the evidence of a "revolution" in the ways industries are organized is somewhat more blurred, with both significant discontinuities and features which persist from the "second" industrial revolution. Chapter One Technological Revolutions and the Evolution of Industrial Structures. Assessing the Impact of New Technologies upon the Size, Pattern of Growth and Boundaries of Firms Giovanni Dosi, Alfonso Gambardella, Marco Grazzi, Luigi Orsenigo Introduction There is little doubt that over the last three decades the world economy has witnessed the emergence of a cluster of new technologies - that is a new broad techno-economic paradigm in the sense of Freeman and Perez (1988) - centered on electronic-based information and communication technologies. Such ICT technologies did not only give rise to new industries but, even more importantly, deeply transformed incumbent industries (and for that matter also service activities), their organizational patterns, and their drivers of competitive success"--

The Emerging Business Models describes current issues that the business leaders and professionals are facing, as well as developments in digitalization. This book consisting of 10 chapters introduces the new technology trends and challenges that businesses today face. The authors cover several increasingly important new areas such as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Internet of Things (IoT), financial technology (FinTech), social media, platform strategy, analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) and many other forces of disruption and innovation that shape today's realities of the world.These digital transformations are taking place at an exponential rate. The speed of innovations and breakthroughs is disrupting the traditional businesses. A better understanding of the changing environment in the new economy can enable business professionals and leaders to recognize realities, embrace changes, and create new opportunities — locally and globally — in this inevitable digital age.

The First Industrial Revolution of the eighteenth century brought fundamental changes in the allocation of people, resources, and energy. In the Second Industrial Revolution, the revolutionary impact of automobiles, photography, electric power, and industrial chemicals made the United States a foremost world power. The Third Industrial Revolution begins with the information revolution brought about by the computer. Each decade since World War II has brought crucial developments in the areas of CAD/CAM, fiber optics, lasers, holography, biogenetics, bioagriculture, and telecommunications. The synergy of these new scientific/industrial areas will change our way of life for the next five decades and beyond. Windows on a New World attempts to integrate some of these outstanding changes. Nine chapters, each written by a specialist in the field, deal with the most important topics relevant to microprocessors, lasers, telecommunications, manufacturing, management, biotechnology, and biophysics. Throughout the volume other important areas are mentioned such as holography, bioagriculture, ceramics, and superconductors. Each contribution shapes the basic science of the subject and then goes beyond to raise pertinent questions and suggest reverberations. The work ends with an overview of the consequences of these changes. Finkelstein's thesis is that the United States, richly endowed by nature, fashioned through its history and people the most successful economy the world has known. At the end of the nineteenth century it put into place both a private and an academic structure that gave it preeminence in the world of industrial product development. That world is changing. It is being rebuilt and restructured by new and incredibly important breakthroughs. Change and uncertainty are our constant companions. For those who see this as negatve and frightening, he argues that the industrial revolutions of the past lifted the world from poverty and offered new opportunities for millions of people. If this is the end of an era, it is also the beginning of a new one. A study that broadens our understanding of a complex series of developments, this extraordinary work will be read with interest by economists, politicians, scientists, historians and all others involved in the fields of business and technology.