The emerging technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution have a vital role to play as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and rebuild our economies. While these technologies can help drive enormous social breakthroughs and economic value, they can also potentially be misused.
An essential consideration for governments, businesses and civil society is how these technologies are harnessed and regulated to accelerate growth, encourage innovation and build resiliency. How governments and other stakeholders approach the governance of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies will play an important role in how we reset society, the economy and the business environment.
Working together, the public and private sectors have the opportunity to nurture the development of Fourth Industrial Revolution technology while mitigating the risks of unethical or malicious uses.
With this in mind, the World Economic Forum worked with Deloitte to produce a practical handbook to examine some of the most important applications of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies if we are to thrive in a post pandemic world and the governance challenges that should be addressed for these technologies to reach their full potential.
Key Insights
The analysis revealed common challenges across the five Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies focused on: artificial intelligence (AI); mobility (including autonomous vehicles); blockchain; drones; and the internet of things (IoT). These challenges include a lack of regulation, misuse of technology and challenges in addressing cross border differences. A visual map of the report is set out below:
To read a copy of the report click on the Download button above.