Dawn of a New Industrial Revolution
News — Following mechanization and mass production, the Information Revolution emerged in the 1950s, bringing automation via computers and related information technologies. The magnitude and breadth of today’s rapid technological advancements have far outpaced that of the information age, giving way to what some refer to as a Fourth Industrial Revolution, also known as the 4IR.
In a research collaboration with University of Michigan Professor Lionel Robert and Copenhagen Business School Professor Xiao Xiao, we define the 4IR as the widespread emergence of machines possessing human-like capabilities to discern, decide, create, and collaborate. Chances are you’ve come across some of these human-like capabilities lately, perhaps in the form of a vehicle that makes safety decisions in real-time, or a viral AI-generated video from a single text prompt that is almost indistinguishable from reality. You might have even started utilizing some of these capabilities in your professional life, as more than half of US employees admit to using generative AI on the job.
The problem is that AI and related 4IR tech are viewed from the perspective of the Information Revolution—as mere “tools” that can help us to be more productive. Perhaps we should adopt more expansive framings, as suggested by Microsoft’s AI Chief Mustafa Suleyman, who calls AI a “digital species.” Our research identifies the roots of these narrow framings and suggests a new framing centered on machines that emulate human capabilities.
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