Is the Fourth Industrial Revolution Worth the Hype? | Economics Explained

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So apparently we are due for a fourth industrial revolution, which might come as a surprise to you because as far as most people can tell we have only had one industrial revolution, and some nations haven’t even got around to that one yet.

All the same, this promise of a radical shift in the way we live our lives has got a lot of economists very excited and maybe a little bit anxious, both for very good reasons.

The first industrial revolution, you know the one that we all think is the only industrial revolution was responsible for giving us production.

This production went on to define our way of life in the modern world where people in advanced economies have access to practically unlimited food, robust housing, and bits and bobs to fulfill our every little desire.

The world before this was very stagnant. The idea that we have economic growth at all, where society is always advancing and every generation is richer than the one that came before it is a surprisingly modern ideology.

What’s more, is that it’s not something that we are guaranteed. We can only get so good at making stuff given our current set of technologies and resources, and in fact, we might already be starting to see this plateau.

Arguably the rollout of smartphones that gave us unlimited access to information wherever we were, was the last great paradigm shift in how we lived our lives.

13 years later this technology is improving but it doesn’t offer anything fundamentally different to the way that we live our lives, run our economies or advance our standard of living.

But maybe we are getting ahead of ourselves.

To really know what to expect from this supposedly incipient fourth revolution we must first understand a few key things.

How do economists define an industrial revolution? What is a revolution and what is just some cool new technology?

What were those other two industrial revolutions?

What is going to be the fourth industrial revolution?

And will this make our modern economies look like the land before steam engines?

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[kronos]

Come on EE, we all know that 3090 you need for "editing" is really so you can "research" for your upcoming "the economy of cyberpunk 2077" video

[davidcalvert-smith]

Apple: Standardisation? Hold my lightning cable

[MicrophoneLion]

You should do a video called “Economics Explained explains the economics of Economics Explained”

[DT-mnpy]

in 1970, I started my career in accounting with a Pentel pencil, green columnar paper and mechanical adding machine! I am still working and participated in all the technological changes since then starting with the Sharp electronic calculator in 1971.

[shivpatel]

Wow EE most YouTubers don’t have time to reply to comments. Even though you have more than 3/4 of a million subscribers, you still reply and interact with commenters. That is very humble. Keep up the good work!

[zf]

These videos are HONESTLY so educational and extremely useful, you’re changing the world one person at a time ☺️ (PLEASE DON’T STOP)

[FinnUnv]

They call me the fastest patron in the west.

[roverrange]

In germany we had this concept called "Industrie 4.0" for a while. It is mostly seen as a "smart factory". Digitalisation, automation, Internet of things, cyber-physical systems etc. They really hammer this home in Engineering classes.

[hannofrerichs]

Oh wow and I had always assumed that electricity had been a revolution.

[mikeberinger]

EE: Imagine your job without computers
Me (a Desktop Technician): Guess I'll just go home then

[Quickonomics]

I always wonder if artificial intelligence gets offended if we question its general intelligence...

[illusive-mike]

While "Industrial Revolution 2B" sounds nice, I'm kinda afraid of the "Industrial Revolution 9S".

[Artifexce]

I'm this fast and I'm not even an economic student, I study engineering

I think it's time to change majors

[ezequielcattalin]

"every new generation is richer than the previous one"
*cries in argentino"

[chuckles]

EE: The idea that every generation is richer than the one that came before it.
Millennials have left the chat...

[Anterran]

So I have been watching your videos for the last couple of days and I have to say they are really good. The only shortcoming I see is that it is just you presenting on these issues which only leaves your interpretation of the information you are able to gather. My suggestion for this is possibly having dialogues with other economist or experts in other fields when talking about future subjects. This could open intelectual thought as people see different perspectives and the reasoning on how they got there. Also, it could just be fun for you.

[piekay]

Sending information through the country in less than a week was possible before.




In Liechtenstein

[paulluna]

I like the brief distinction for what YouTube has accomplished vs what a industrial revolution is

[dayandsauce]

My immediate reaction of the title was the next great leap forward🧐

[digitalhermit]

I highly recommend reading Martin Ford's "Rise of the Robots". It offers a quite level look at the near future