The ABCDEs of the 5th industrial revolution

In 2016, Klaus Schwab wrote a book on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and how it would transform industry, the economy, and society. Five years later, 2021 onwards, authors have begun discussing the advent of the Fifth Industrial Revolution (5IR). The question is how different and revolutionary the 5IR is from the 4IR. Is it for real, or is it a utopian global scenario that we strive for, but are still far away from?

Here is how and what to teach to win the 4th industrial revolution.

Industry 5.0 will be about the robotics we put inside ourselves?– bionic augmentation and the ‘internet of bodies’. It will be powered by purpose, not just profit. It will be about how mankind works with machines and creates boundaries and responsible AI and information and communications technology applications that we trust.

When a health system rolls out modern technology that it insists will make physicians’ lives easier, the announcement is typically met with skepticism. But the use of augmented intelligence (AI) —often called artificial intelligence—has changed that. The Permanente Medical Group’s rollout of ambient AI scribes to reduce documentation burdens has been deemed a success, saving most of the physicians using it an average of one hour a day at the keyboard.

Here are the ABCDEs of the fifth industrial revolution:

• Artificial intelligence
• Blockchain
• Cybersecurity
• Data security, privacy, confidentiality, and interoperability
• Economic impact

Add quantum computing to the list.

In March 2022 Steve Blank wrote a description of the Quantum Technology Ecosystem . Now would be a good time to check in on the progress of building a quantum computer and explain more of the basics

Moving forward, our sick care strategies and tactics should be guided by:

1. Appropriate rules, regulations, and rights
2. Addressing the threats of the technology-industrial complex
3. Education and training reform
4. Equitable access to tools
5. Cultural and organizational transformation
6. Reconciling the conflicts between the business of medicine and the practice of medical judgement
7. Fixing busted trust
8. Appropriate AI guidance, augmentation, and assistance to achieve the sextuple aims
9. Cybersecurity, confidentiality, and privacy
10. Public/patient education
11. Data, semantic and information interoperability
12. An appropriate balance of techno-optimism and techno skepticism
13. Policies and procedures to adapt to the inevitable workforce transformation
14. Restore confidence and trust in expertise

Here is how patients and doctors can win the 5th industrial revolution.

Here are the ABCDEs of technology adoption.

There are many barriers to the adoption and penetration of medical technologies. The history of medicine is full of examples, like the stethoscope, which took decades before they were widely adopted. Hopefully, with additional insights and data, it won’t take us that long to make the right choices.

Arlen Meyers, MD, MBA is the President and CEO of the Society of Physician Entrepreneurs on Substack