Time for urgent conversation on how technological advances are reshaping our lives
Our policies should be designed to enhance its creative and empowering potential, write Imraan Valodia and Bonang Mohale
Across the world communities are adjusting to new ways of working, doing business, consuming goods, socialising and researching as technological advances that have come to be known as the fourth industrial revolution change how we do things. The likely effects of the fourth industrial revolution are determined largely by who you are, what you do, how wealthy you are and where you live. Some in the wealthy nations see these changes as opportunities for a better work-leisure balance. Developing countries have vastly different challenges and need to be thinking about how these technologies will affect employment, economic growth, job security and inequality, among others. We should consider the risks and the opportunities that these technologies may offer to improve the lives of the millions who live in poverty and on the margins of the economy. We think we should be guided by: • A focus on overall systems, not just technologies. We should try to understand the overall system of techno...
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