4th Industrial Revolution ~ It's Growing

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”?―?George Bernard Shaw,?Man and Superman.

This week's issue concerns progress or the lack of it in many different areas economically, socially, politically and environmentally.

Personal Log: The Children of Tomorrow

As parents, my wife and I always focused on what our children watched and did online. It was then always a challenge and is now more difficult to manage and control what we are unaware of. For instance, This week, a man posted pictures of his daughter and even raised money based on their hard luck story. The girl's real parents were shocked when they found their daughter's pictures being depicted as someone else's daughter. The man used pictures of their daughter taken off of Facebook, he has been charged, and more charges are apparently to come. This is the world we live in. And our children, grandchildren, and even vulnerable young adults are emerging into a world that will be more intrusive and in danger of being abused or robbed by total strangers. Even more so, we will be connected to this technology in ways we have never imagined possible. This merging of technology with humans could be the new panacea and our new addiction. If you doubt it, ask the family of adult gamers who go into their rooms or basements to play after work. We are already unable to put down our devices, even those staunch about not looking at work emails on the weekend find themselves behind on Monday mornings. The children born in these last ten years will experience a fundamental shift and demand for a new level of social skills, communication, education and work experience. The world is all about progress. The question is, will the children of tomorrow have those skills and be progressive themselves? Will the education system be able to point students directionally on the future ahead and where their careers will be? I am not so sure. Academia is slow to move, and technology is moving a lot faster. Less than seven years ago, we were told that the demand was very high for coders. Now they are losing their jobs to Ai. It's not just about our first round of education. It is about continuous education and career longevity. Nothing lasts forever, and this world that our children are emerging into will with a new iteration of change, sometimes dramatic, almost yearly. And educating all generations can help protect them from those who will try to exploit their innocence.

The 4th Industrial Revolution It's Growing!

I didn't believe we could repeat the 1920s roaring twenties-style gold rush post-pandemic again. Why? Because 100 years ago, there was a massive introduction of consumer products, sales and marketing started to come of age and layaway plans were introduced so that consumers could buy those everyday appliances; vacuum cleaners, hair dryers, washing machines, fridges and stoves, as just one example. Hoards of people were buying them. They had almost a decade's worth of incredible economic progress entering a new era and watching the old one collapse in the Great Depression.

However, in the late fall of 2022, a curve ball was thrown at us, coming completely out of the blue. Not that it didn't exist, but because we didn't know that things had developed this quickly. Everyone was still digging out of the Pandemic and taking cover from inflation and higher interest rates. I am obviously referring to the announcement of ChatGPT, which now has millions of users. Ai, is key to the 4th Industrial Revolution (4th IR), which by the way, really started to emerge in the early 2000s. And let's keep in mind that Meta #Facebook didn't start until 2004, #Apple's smartphone wasn't introduced till 2007, in the same year #Netflix introduced a video streaming service, which eventually killed #BlockBuster by 2014. Retailers struggled with e-commerce, and #Amazon now sells some 70% of all books, with bookstore chains struggling to survive. We called all of this disruptive innovation, but it was building momentum, and technology has been increasingly upsetting business norms for the last decade, and each year it accelerates further and faster.

Some of the biggest failures in business were likely because they operated behind the times.

So what is the 4th Industrial Revolution about? There are five key elements. The first Technological Melding of all technologies blurring the lines between the physical, digital and biological spheres of interaction. This includes technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), big data analytics, blockchain, 3D printing, nanotechnology, biotechnology, and faster, more powerful computing. The second Power of Connectivity and Automation, the proliferation of interconnected devices, systems, and machines, enables seamless data exchange and automation of processes. Allowing for real-time monitoring, control, and optimization of various operations, leading to increased efficiency, productivity, and customization. The third is Data Competence and Capabilities collection analysis, and utilizing massive amounts of data enables organizations to gain valuable insights, make informed decisions, and create personalized experiences. Where machine learning, and AI algorithms are leveraged to identify opportunities for faster R&D and innovation. The fourth is the Metamorphosis of Industries, such as reshaping manufacturing with concepts like smart factories and digital supply chains. It is already revolutionizing healthcare through precision medicine, telemedicine, and wearable devices. It is influencing transportation with autonomous vehicles and the infrastructure for smart cities. Finally, a Societal Challenge is coming on both sides of opportunities, like addressing inequalities, poverty and homelessness. And the inherent risks, change can be disruptive and displacing of businesses and jobs.

The problem with the 4th IR is that humans who have been strategists and creatives on their own or within think tanks offering their services and experiences to employers and clients will face a new challenge. They will only be as capable as their abilities to integrate, impact and influence change with the tools the 4th Industrial Revolution offers. And why will this accelerate in such a profound way? Because operating, responding and winning in the marketplace isn't just about the right products through innovation and design, nor pricing or services and promotional offers, it is about everything happening simultaneously.

I wasn't wrong about what technology can do, I was wrong about its timing. All of this will likely happen sooner rather than later. Will there be a 2020's renaissance like the 1920s...We don't know. We know that progress is much faster than it was 100 years ago.

Politics

The Ratification of Bill C-18 Reshapes the Canadian Digital Landscape

Bill C-18 has been officially ratified, it is not progressive! This legislation brings about a significant change that will impact how Canadians interact with giants of social networks such as #Google, #Facebook, and #Instagram. The popular platforms are set to eliminate Canadian news from their feeds, with predictions indicating that other social media sites may soon follow suit.

Bill C-18 was sparked by the intensifying outcry from various media entities at all echelons, pressuring the government to intervene over the controversial issue of unpaid news content utilized by these social media behemoths. News outlets argued that they lost essential advertising revenue, largely because their stories were freely disseminated on social platforms without compensation.

In response, these digital platforms have elected to cease sharing Canadian news content and restrict their users from posting such items. This move effectively cuts off a significant stream of news sharing in Canada, signifying a drastic shift in how news is accessed and shared across the nation. We haven't heard from #LinkedIn and even #Twitter #TikTok, where those posting seldom share the news with accuracy.

The ripple effects of Bill C-18's implementation are bound to be substantial and multi-faceted in Canadian Media. And it is possible that these social media giants will and can create their own news reporting.

Retail Loans and the Economy

The inflation rate fell from 4.4% to 3.4%. The question is, why did rates go up? Because bank governors focus on core inflation. And recently the competition bureau discovered that we need more competition in the grocery sector. Well, you didn't need years of analysis to tell you that. The same goes for the cellular and internet world.

But now have higher prices and interest rates, fighting for who will take more of your money. Wait, there is more that maybe, even bank governors are ignoring the insanity of lending under the radar...sort of! For example, Affirm will give you zero percent loans if you have a good rating. So those starting out in life have easy credit available to them, and they can buy, buy, buy on easily accessible credit. However, Affirm, not alone in this game, also lends to those with less desirable credit scores with interest rates of 10-36%. Interestingly, these loans don't go on your credit rating. This could be a bank failure of a different kind because financial institutions and investors have to float money to these firms.

As I have said in past newsletters, if we are driving retail growth and the economy with easy access to credit, nothing is progressive about this. We are in dangerous waters with this current economy in play. And eventually, there will be defaults, the lending will stall, and so will the economy and retailers will scramble again for survival.

Environment

If you wonder why we struggle with progress on the environment, you can thank politicians with no vision of the future.

Over this last week, the skies in Canada and the US have had plumes of smoke, it is both an environmental and human health issue. Looking at The Weather Network for air quality ratings where I live, we were at "11" on Wednesday, which is a very high-risk rating. Then I came across this short NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration video. It shows how the planet's temperatures have increased since the 1880s. Of particular interest is how much it increased from the 1990s to 2022. Couple that with rising sea waters and CO2 emissions. By the way, I gallon of gasoline used by a car creates 19.4 pounds of CO2; multiply that by the number of cars every day and the gasoline used, and you can see why there is a great deal of worry. And if that doesn't worry you, there are microplastics in the rain getting into water systems and in the air. I am not sure which will get me first, what I am sure of is that we've done this to ourselves. We can kick the can down the road for future generations to deal with, or we can be responsible. Something few politicians are showing very much of on this issue. Of course, politicians want to leave the climate issue to the technology sector to solve. They think that's progressive. Here's why it's not. They don't want to be the ones telling you that we need Trillions of dollars globally to solve this and the risks if we don't. Even tech companies can't pay that bill. Politicians without vision and experience are only progressive in their rhetoric.

Thank you for reading this week's issue of the Business Brief. Over the summer, it will be issued every two weeks.

#retailing #strategy #ceo #technology #innovation #future #marketing #careers #business #economy