Ever-evolving technologies are expected to reinforce interconnectivity worldwide and upgrade the current model in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution despite concerns such as cyberattacks and information-technology network breakdowns, an expert from the World Economic Forum said.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution, the fourth major industrial era since the initial one in the 18th century, will be an exponential rather than a linear progress, making it more difficult to grapple with than ever before, according to David Aikman, China chief representative officer and a member of the WEF Executive Committee.

"The unprecedented pace of technological change means that our systems of health, transportation, communication, production, distribution and energy will be completely transformed," said Aikman, adding that no one currently has a plan for dealing with these unprecedented changes.

"Thanks to advances in robotics and artificial intelligence, we may be able to move from a model of production and consumption toward one of sharing and caring," he added.

With the exponential explosion of data that will come from billions of connected devices in smart cities and the internet of things, Aikman believes artificial intelligence will have to be deployed to manage the flow and automate many tasks, a move he said is not without its potential hazards.

"This produces new and unforeseen risks, such as the risk of bias in decisions made by machines with little or no human intervention," Aikman said.

Additionally, the WEF's "Global Risks Report 2019" also showed that large-scale cyberattacks and the breakdown of critical IT infrastructure and networks have risen to become one of the greatest causes for concern, alongside climate change and extreme weather events.

"Our economies are now almost fully dependent on the global IT infrastructure as the backbone of internationals trade and commerce," Aikman said. "This looming cyberthreat comes just as breakthrough technologies are affecting us to an ever-greater extent, and in ways with which we have not yet learned to cope."

Aikman believed that challenges that the world is facing today can be addressed only if placed within the larger context of political, economic, technological, governance and social interrelationships.

Aikman said China is an "essential actor" in nearly every field of international cooperation, from climate change to technology governance, which is why he is excited to be working with Chinese leaders in the future.

As the mega-city cluster project of the world's second-largest economy, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area would be an ideal place to embrace the Fourth Industrial Revolution and leverage that transformation for economic and social development, Aikman said.

As one of the most exciting urban developments in recent history, the Bay Area has the quality - breadth of infrastructure and a stable financial system, two essential factors needed to be competitive, according to the WEF's "Global Competitiveness Report 2018".

On the other hand, the vitality of the internet economy cannot be explained merely based on the growth rate, Aikman said, citing some recent concerns about a probable slowdown of China's internet economy in 2019.

"No matter how the economy fluctuates, we cannot underestimate the incredible transformation of the Chinese economy that is underway," he said.

Furthermore, with almost half of China's population not yet connected to the internet, there is a massive potential for the category to further expand, especially when the government is building out the matching infrastructure to make it possible, according to the WEF expert.

"Imagine the benefit to the internet economy of all of those people being able to access goods and services online, but also the social benefits in terms of financial inclusion," according to Aikman, believing that China is working hard to make sure that "the incredible growth is both inclusive and sustainable".

kevindai@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 04/11/2019 page8)