Page 71 - The Fourth Industrial Revolution

the American intelligence analyst who leaked documents relating to US

national security operations.

Availability and inclusion
As the global economy increasingly moves into the digital realm, the
availability of reliable internet infrastructure becomes a crucial prerequisite
for a flourishing economy. Governments need to understand the potential
provided by these technological advances. Not only do they need to adopt

these technologies to optimize their internal operations, they also need to
promote and support their widespread deployment and use to move forward
towards a globally connected information society. The issue of digital

exclusion (or digital divide) becomes ever more pressing, as it is
increasingly difficult for people to participate in the digital economy and
new forms of civic engagement without proper internet access and/or
without access to a connected device or sufficient knowledge to use that
device.

Power asymmetries
In today’s information society, asymmetries of information might lead to

significant asymmetries of power, since whoever has the knowledge to
operate the technology also has the power to do so. An entity with root
access is almost omnipotent. Given the complexity of fully grasping the

potential and underlying technicalities of modern technologies, however,
increasing inequalities might emerge between tech-savvy individuals, who
understand and control these technologies, and less knowledgeable
individuals, who are passive users of a technology they do not understand.

Source: “A call for Agile Governance Principles in an Age of Disruption”, Global Agenda Council on Software & Society,
World Economic Forum, November 2015

3.3.2 Countries, Regions and Cities

Because digital technology knows no borders, there are many questions that
come to mind when considering the geographic impact of technology and the

impact of geography on technology. What will define the roles that
countries, regions and cities play in the fourth industrial revolution? Will
Western Europe and the US lead the transformation, as they did the previous
industrial revolutions? Which countries will be able to leapfrog? Will there

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