The Fourth Industrial Revolution: The Future of Work and
Implications for Managers Conference (4IRC2018)
Co-convened by UiTM Sabah & PERDASAMA Sabah
‘We stand on the brink of a technological
revolution that will fundamentally alter the way we live, work, and
relate to one another. In its scale, scope, and complexity, the
transformation will be unlike anything humankind has experienced
before. We do not yet know just how it will unfold, but one thing is
clear: the response to it must be integrated and comprehensive,
involving all stakeholders of the global polity, from the public and
private sectors to academia and civil society’ - (Klaus Schwab 2017,
World Economic Forum)
The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR – or Industry 4.0) is the
digital transformation in society and business which involves an
interfacebetween technologies in the physical, digital and
biological disciplines. It is distinguished from earlier industrial
transformations by its speed, scope, and broad global impacts, most
of which include the ‘transformation of systems of production,
management and governance’ (Klaus Schwab). Emerging technology such
as artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet of Things,
autonomous vehicles, 3-D printing, nanotechnology, biotechnology,
materials science, energy storage, and quantum computing, represent
just the tip of this technology iceberg. New technological
applications include driverless cars, trucks and trains,
“cashier-less” shops, robotic doctors, lawyers, farmers, mechanics,
construction workers, tutors, insurance agents and bank tellers,
amongst many others.
Challenges and opportunities presented by 4IR include the potential
to raise global income levels, improve the quality of life, and also
lead to supply-side benefits such as long-term business efficiency,
productivity, and national economic growth. On the downside,
significant workplace changes and the replacement of (particularly)
low and medium skilled jobs by robots, are anticipated. In the
latter aspect, McKinsey and Company predict that half of all
existing work activities could be automated by currently existing
technologies, saving some US $16 trillion in wages. They suggest
that revenues from artificial intelligence will increase to more
than US $47 billion by 2020. Industries attracting the most
investment include automated customer service, quality management
and recommendations, medical diagnosis and treatment, and fraud
analysis and investigation. Schwab (2017) suggests that the 4IR will
have four main impacts on business – namely, ‘on customer
expectations, on product (and service) enhancement, on collaborative
innovation, and on organizational forms’.
This conference will appeal to business managers from all industry
sectors, government leaders, HRM professionals, workforce planners,
academics from universities and technical colleges, researchers and
community representatives.