Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Ramadan 17, 1445 H
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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Dreams of a Fourth Industrial Revolution!

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It is nice to imagine the world of Fourth Industrial Revolution and its technological development which is reshaping many aspects of our lives. In view of these developments taking place all around, there is much talk about this technology at conferences.


But when it comes to ground reality, the extent of our need for a Fourth Industrial Revolution and our actual readiness for it, we find a huge gap between theory and practice.


This fourth industrial revolution requires strong ground to be prepared to be actually ready to get benefits of these latest developments. Therefore, basic infrastructure for information technology has to be developed, ensured that their capacity is increased, digital transformation is expedited in organisations and the skills of those who work in various information technology sections and departments are upgraded. This has to be achieved before we think about fourth industrial revolution.


These are basic requisites which can work as an engine for any modern technology. They are the foundations which help application of any new technology. Any talk other than this is nothing but fantasy and dream which does not have any relation to reality.


We can dream of industrial revolution and aspire to have it. There is no problem in this. But these dreams should not be like bubbles which does not survive for long, and we need preparation for this. Just talking about technologies at conferences won’t work. We need to look at our readiness to upgrade our systems and understand technological advancements.


Before talking about the Fourth Industrial Revolution and introducing it in our lives, we must ask ourselves whether the digital transformation is complete or there is resistance at certain levels in the public and private sectors. There may be some opposition to digital transformation as it will reduce certain administrative powers at certain levels. The cadre are not prepared for transformation to digital technology as they may not understand the day-to-day technological advancements in the world. We must look at all these issues in detail before moving towards another phase of development, because each new technology is based on previous technology. If there is no success with previous technology, it will be difficult for us to take advantage of the new one. This is the process of proper technological advancement.


Efforts are being made by government and private organisations to catch up with the technological progress taking place in the world. However, large number of our organisations and institutions need time to cope with these developments and need time to get them replaced by newer ones. This is time to think of the fourth generation or the Fourth Industrial Revolution under these conditions and circumstances which require a change.


There is no doubt that efforts in this direction are required. Thinking of any development or technology is good. But before that we must explore the advantages of these technologies and our readiness to accept them. We should not bring new technologies just to be on par with others or just to move with the global trends.


We hope that we will seriously evaluate the steps we have taken in the area of information technology and the developments we have achieved so far. We would have certain models to follow and apply. Before thinking about our future we must assess our present so that we can match it with our aspirations, dreams and realities.


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