Page 24 - The Fourth Industrial Revolution

popular media owner, creates no content. Alibaba, the most valuable

retailer, has no inventory. And Airbnb, the world’s largest accommodation
provider, owns no real estate.” 9

Digital platforms have dramatically reduced the transaction and friction
costs incurred when individuals or organizations share the use of an asset or
provide a service. Each transaction can now be divided into very fine
increments, with economic gains for all parties involved. In addition, when

using digital platforms, the marginal cost of producing each additional
product, good or service tends towards zero. This has dramatic implications
for business and society that I will explore in Chapter Three.

2.1.3 Biological

Innovations in the biological realm – and genetics in particular – are nothing
less than breath-taking. In recent years, considerable progress has been
achieved in reducing the cost and increasing the ease of genetic sequencing,

and lately, in activating or editing genes. It took more than 10 years, at a cost
of $2.7 billion, to complete the Human Genome Project. Today, a genome
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can be sequenced in a few hours and for less than a thousand dollars. With
advances in computing power, scientists no longer go by trial and error;

rather, they test the way in which specific genetic variations generate
particular traits and diseases.

Synthetic biology is the next step. It will provide us with the ability to
customize organisms by writing DNA. Setting aside the profound ethical
issues this raises, these advances will not only have a profound and
immediate impact on medicine but also on agriculture and the production of

biofuels.

Many of our intractable health challenges, from heart disease to cancer,
have a genetic component. Because of this, the ability to determine our
individual genetic make-up in an efficient and cost-effective manner
(through sequencing machines used in routine diagnostics) will

revolutionize personalized and effective healthcare. Informed by a tumour’s
genetic make-up, doctors will be able to make decisions about a patient’s
cancer treatment.

While our understanding of the links between genetic markers and disease is

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