The fourth industrial revolution is transforming more than just factories, and engineers must protect against a steep human cost.
The fourth industrial revolution is radically changing not just our industry, but our entire world. How we are governed, the strength and nature of our economy, how and where we live, our domestic life, healthcare, education, financial systems, international relations, quality of working life and many other areas will be very different within our lifetimes. It IS a revolution.
These changes are driven by how we are using increasingly capable information-based technologies that are designed, implemented, maintained and modified by engineers. More than ever since the original industrial revolution, the decisions engineers make and the advice they give are impacting peoples lives.
I’ve made a career of understanding the digital transformation of industry, and I’ve spoken to many manufacturers about how to level up their technology and unlock the benefits of Industry 4.0. I teach it at the University of Waterloo and I’ve written about it many times here on engineering.com.
But there’s one aspect of digital transformation that’s often neglected, brushed aside in favor of conversations on the exciting technological and business opportunities. The digital changes that engineers and manufacturers are helping to bring about will fundamentally alter our society, and they must plan for these changes in a responsible and holistic way—or we’ll all pay a steep price.
The outsized role of engineers in digital transformation
The changes in society wrought by the first industrial revolution were dramatic. From predominately rural lives, people went to work in factories, moved from the country to the city and would eventually vote in elections. Free trade replaced protectionism, education became compulsory and the roles of women and men in family units were transformed. These changes happened over an 80 year period, in just a few countries.
The changes we are seeing today are much faster, bigger and global.
Engineers have always understood the importance of their ethical behavior, knowing that bad decisions can impact people’s lives or even result in their deaths. I believe that ethical behavior was easier for engineers in the past than it is today. Guidelines and regulations would often be available to help engineers make good decisions, but today’s rapid technological change means these guidelines don’t always exist. Has anyone yet nailed down the ethics of generative AI? (If so, please share.)
More than ever before, engineers need to analyze the impact of their work and make their own ethical judgements.
The efforts of manufacturers to respond to the fourth industrial revolution and digitally transform their operations is not an easy one. Up to 70% of these efforts fail, since they require a wide range of skills from throughout the organization. Digital transformation is not possible without the technical, process and project management skills of engineers. They understand what the technology can do and how it can best be used in existing or new organization processes, and they have the experience of managing technical projects needed for successful implementation. Engineers are a critical element in the impact that technology will have, in the workplace and beyond.
Economic prosperity is tied to digital transformation
The application of technology in digital transformation can take many forms, influencing products and services, processes and business models. The success of these applications will determine the future performance of the organization. Bad decisions may lead to its demise. As the pace and scale of technological change increases, this becomes more critical and frequent. We have already seen many well-known companies fail for their inability to adapt.
While it is normal and economically healthy for some organizations to decline and new companies to take their place, in the globally integrated economy the new companies won’t necessarily appear where the old have failed—some places will be enriched by the fourth industrial revolution while others will decline.
This means local and national economic prosperity depends on effective digital transformation for existing companies, and the creation of a fertile environment for the creation and attraction of new ones. Economic prosperity depends on the extent of national digital transformation effectiveness. The role of engineers in this is critical.
The huge human impact of digital transformation
For organizations that survive, the decisions made about technology will also impact how people work. Their job descriptions, job flexibility, stress levels, physical and mental exertion and overall quality of working life is directly impacted by these technology decisions. The jobs people will have in the future are being created today.
It is therefore critical to understand the human impact of technological transformation. Not only for the sake of the humans whose working lives will be affected, but for the sake of maintaining a cohesive organization. Engineers must consider this factor to an even greater extent than they have in the past.
The decisions made within an organization will be important outside it too, in the local community. Changes in job numbers, pay levels and job security will impact workers and their families, along with the businesses and organizations that rely on the money they spend.
Business volatility, driven by more rapid technological change, doesn’t just impact the individual organization but extends to the wider community. In the past, slow change in businesses was easier for communities to adapt to. Today, fast change places stresses on the network of institutions and elements that make communities whole, secure, vibrant and economically successful. Engineers are at the front line of organizations’ responses to digital transformation and the resulting community impact. It’s not a responsibility to take lightly.
Navigating digital transformation for a better future
While digital transformation is local, it is also national. How organizations respond to the fourth industrial revolution locally will be aggregated nationally and reflected in economic performance and national standards of living.
Most of the wide-ranging changes taking place today have uncertain outcomes—we don’t know what our form of governance, relationships with other countries, working lives, education, financial systems and beyond will be like in the future. Engineers have the skill and knowledge to influence these outcomes for the better. The advice they give and work they do will significantly impact our future world.
Engineers have always carried a heavy responsibility. As technology changes continue to accelerate, and as industry digitally transforms itself in response, that weight will only increase. Engineers must navigate these changes to ensure they result in better lives for people today and in the future, from the workplace to the community to the nation and the world at large.
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Peter Carr is the author and instructor of the University of Waterloo Watspeed Digital Transformation Certificate Program, available globally online, and focused on overcoming the challenges of successful technological change. The program is jointly offered with the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers.