It’s the Fourth Revolution, stupid!

The rapid advance of digitization in all areas of life has been going on for quite a while. The way this issue is being discussed in Davos says a lot about the very nature of the World Economic Forum.

At the Hanover Fair (Hannover Messe) in Germany, the world’s biggest industrial trade fair, the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” has been a topic for years. Engineers there usually call it “Industry 4.0.” The term designates the merging of traditional and digital industries. In the production process, for instance, machines “know” in advance how to mill a component and change their tools accordingly – thanks to the omnipresence of semiconductors and sensors.

In Davos, of course, people think big, and a mere technical definition is not enough. Klaus Schwab, founder and chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF), wrote a book about “The Fourth Industrial Revolution” – which is also this year’s central theme in Davos. Read More…