The Next Industrial Revolution
We are enterung the next industrial revolution, one based upon on Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Biotechnology, IoT and Cybertronics. This contemporary revolution will merge and combine these innovative technologies.
Each time we go through one of these massive automated revolutions, it completely alters most country’s economics, geo-politics, society and warfare.
- The First Industrial Revolution used water and steam power to mechanise production.
- The Second used electric power to create mass production.
- The Third used electronics and information technology to automate production.
Now we have a Fourth Industrial Revolution, which is a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres.
We now have mobile AI super-computing which imitates human thought, Intelligent robots, self-driving cars and biotechnology all of which has applications in major industrial areas, including health care, crop production and agriculture.
Each Industrial Revolution has an enormous impact on warfare, society, crime and business.
Warfare
Part of the outcome of the 1st Industrial Revolution was the creation of railroads and the telegraph and each significantly affected the American Civil War. A decade before the war the telegraph was invented by Samuel Morse in 1844, and telegraph wires soon sprang up all along the East Coast. During the American Civil War 15,000 miles of telegraph cable was laid purely for military purposes. Lincoln intensively used the telegraph to get faster and clearer understanding of the conflict and used the information to change his strategy and battle tactics.
For the first time in the history of warfare, the telegraph helped field commanders to direct real-time battlefield operations and permitted senior military officials to coordinate strategy across large distances. These capabilities were key factors in the North's victory.
Similar to way Lincoln viewed the telegraph and the use of the railways cyber-space is now seen by senior military officers and officials as another “domain” of warfare, along with air, land, sea, and space but it’s effective purpose is still in debate.
However, in this era of the 4th Industrial Revolution so far the pace of technological development has surpassed most nation’s ability to govern effectively. We live in a time where security risks emerging from the threat of bio-weapons, nano-weapons, cyber-weapons. Several countries are now developing nano-weapons that can attack using mini-nuclear bombs and insect-like robots.
The new cyber space can be visualised as an electronic nervous system running through many national and international sectors and systems. The process has and is changing many areas of social life, commerce and government.
Society
From 2000 to 2019, the number of global Internet users rose from 394 million to 4.2 billion, so over half the world’s population of 7.6B use the Internet.
These technologies include 3D commercial production, data driven vehicles, robotic, bio-technology, AI and there is a blurring of physical, digital and biological elements to create a new techno-reality. And of course this is also changing and bringing new types of criminal activity. Now over half of the world’s population browses the Web.
Crime
However, cyber-space also includes hacker criminal threats, and the growing arena of cyber-warfare.
The potential for engaging with and countering cyber-crime comes in many new unique ways, one of which is Automated Content Recognition technologies. These technologies can extract visual data from thousands of information streams which can be used to identify criminal activity and specific individuals who have been criminally active.
It is very important that all areas of business and commerce, police forces and the military create and continually review an electronic cyber strategy ensuring that this is used in their tactics on the ground.
The Dark Web
The Dark Web is a term that refers specifically to a collection of websites that exist on an encrypted network and cannot be found by using traditional search engines or visited by using traditional browsers. Almost all sites on the so-called Dark Web hide their identity using the Tor encryption tool. Currently Londoners are losing an average of £26 million a month in cyber-attacks on businesses and individuals, Scotland Yard has warned and often this being done by criminals using the Dark Web.
Analysists suggest that about 73 per cent of frauds are carried out online, with many criminals based overseas, making it difficult for local police to pursue a case.
The Future of Robotics
In the future, robots with artificial intelligence will help make life easier for all of us, doing our dull, dirty, difficult jobs, and tackling tasks we simply couldn’t do ourselves The use of autonomous robotic submarines to determine ice hazards and risks for shipping and energy installations in the arctic.
AI equipped machines will also play a big part in the future of agriculture, reducing food production costs and improving land use.
With an estimated 60% more food needed by 2050, the UK government is investing £90m to transform food production. This will include funding for demonstrator projects that show how innovative agri-tech ideas can be applied in the real world. This is the transformative effect of technology.
Robots will of course be used in warfare as we already use drones and so in some respects the types of ground attacks will require less soldiers as planes will not need pilots. Drones can be used to spy and monitor the enemy with live video and remote communications to ground troops and other weapons. Already several military robots have been developed by various armies. Some believe the future of modern warfare will be fought by automated weapons systems and will be initially controlled by the next generation of cyber soldiers.
Future of Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is an area of computer science that emphasises the creation of intelligent machines that work and react like humans. AI has been a prediction for decades but was initially associated with robots only. AI now gives us more variables to work with and helps us to process all the variables in a programmatic way which is much simpler and offers a transparent level of confidence.
Merging AI and decision management systems are capable enough to take decision-making to an entirely new level. Today, some people are starting to strategically come to terms with Artificial Intelligence, robotics and bio-technology after estimating how much it is going to change aspects of their professional work.
Or, as some others predict, the development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race. Stephen Hawking said that once humans really develop artificial intelligence, it will take off on its own and redesign itself at an ever-increasing rate.
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