As far as revolutions go, the one we are living through now seems quiet. Though its effects are profound and touch everybody, not least during these days of Covid-19, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is enabled by technologies that are based on computing and the internet, which largely do their work in the background of our lives. Main applications include the Internet of Things ("smart" toasters and refrigerators), artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles and medicine tailored to an individual's DNA.
Two things are certain: the speed of this revolution is unprecedented, and the impact is relevant to more and more people in increasingly diverse ways. It’s difficult to imagine a world without the Fourth Industrial Revolution's technologies. Yet, as surely as four follows three and five follows four, there will be further industrial revolutions.
Signs of the next one are already emerging, and it is set to be just as life-changing as its predecessors. But to understand what's in store for the Fifth Industrial Revolution, we must first look back at where we have been.
The original Industrial Revolution, beginning in the late 18th century, mechanised industries with steam engines and replaced agricultural societies. Technologies of this period paved the way toward the use of oil and gas in the late 1800s, when the combustion engine appeared, truly driving industries into the Second Industrial Revolution. Aircraft and automobiles were central to this revolution.
The Third Industrial Revolution, beginning in the 1960s, was characterised by computers and electronics. This enabled some of the earliest journeys into space on less computing power than we carry in our hands today. And now here we are, in the midst of the Fourth Revolution.
It is worth noting that the first of the revolutions lasted about 200 years. The second lasted about 100, while the third only about 50. It is easy to see the pattern here.
One trend is particularly important in understanding what comes next: the intimacy of technology. Steam engines were important and impressively large industrial tools; They were housed in massive factories, and hundreds of people laboured around them. Then, with the combustion engine and the telephone of the second revolution, we became closely connected to these technologies and to one another. The third revolution was about miniaturising technology and personal computing. During the fourth, we are hyper-connected through our smart devices to most of the planet.
The Fifth Industrial Revolution will make that connection closer and seamless, and will feel unmediated. The smart device onto which we tap and into which we speak will disappear. Brain-computer interfaces will replace them.
The fifth will stand on the shoulders of the fourth, as technology of diminishing size will be fundamental, and the digital networks will be essential. We are soon finding that the rate at which we type into our smart devices today is a frustrating few bytes at most, while our imagination is orders of magnitude greater.
Can we connect our brains – and our minds – to machines? The short answer is yes, and we have done so for some time. The longer answer is more complicated, but more interesting.
Smart devices will disappear, and brain-computer interfaces will replace them
Until a few years ago, machines were connected to the brain and the nervous system principally for medical purposes – for example, to treat Parkinson’s disease or repair spinal cord injuries. Most recently, research has focused on other, non-therapeutic uses, and some of the most high-profile investment in such technology comes from Facebook, Google, Amazon and Elon Musk's Neuralink. This is where the Fifth Industrial Revolution is in the making.
Mr Musk founded Neuralink in 2016. It has since established technologies that can record and stimulate signals from thousands of sites in the brain. Artificial Intelligence is an important component of these achievements and new announcements from Neuralink are expected later in the month. Facebook has recently acquired Ctrl-Labs, a New York-based start-up that had developed a bracelet that detects the intention to move and allows users to manipulate objects on a screen by thought alone. Machine learning is a fundamental ingredient in achieving this.
Bryan Johnson, another tech pioneer, has founded Kernel and recently announced the ability to decode a person’s brain activity and identify the speech or song they are hearing. Mr Johnson aims to usher in a "neuro-quantified era" to characterise thoughts and emotions, both conscious and subconscious. Investors seem to be enthusiastic: they funded Kernel with more than $50 million in early July.
The direction of travel is clear. The science and technology are progressing quickly, for therapeutic and lifestyle or commercial applications. The demand is growing and the underlying Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies are going to make this a reality.
We might communicate with others by thought alone, check in at the airport using a mind-reading bracelet, or do our mind-supported shopping – perhaps, for example, to guarantee our safety from infectious viruses. Eventually, regulation will help to make such devices accessible, safe and mainstream. And our use of these technologies will lay the foundations for yet a new revolution. What might the Sixth Industrial Revolution hold?
Dr Patrick Noack is the executive director of future, foresight and imagination at the Dubai Future Foundation
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
Richard Jewell
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Brandon Stanley
Two-and-a-half out of five stars
Australia tour of Pakistan
March 4-8: First Test, Rawalpindi
March 12-16: Second Test, Karachi
March 21-25: Third Test, Lahore
March 29: First ODI, Rawalpindi
March 31: Second ODI, Rawalpindi
April 2: Third ODI, Rawalpindi
April 5: T20I, Rawalpindi
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Spec%20sheet
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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Four%20scenarios%20for%20Ukraine%20war
%3Cp%3E1.%20Protracted%20but%20less%20intense%20war%20(60%25%20likelihood)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E2.%20Negotiated%20end%20to%20the%20conflict%20(30%25)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E3.%20Russia%20seizes%20more%20territory%20(20%25)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E4.%20Ukraine%20pushes%20Russia%20back%20(10%25)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cem%3EForecast%20by%20Economist%20Intelligence%20Unit%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The%20Color%20Purple
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What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
T20 World Cup Qualifier
October 18 – November 2
Opening fixtures
Friday, October 18
ICC Academy: 10am, Scotland v Singapore, 2.10pm, Netherlands v Kenya
Zayed Cricket Stadium: 2.10pm, Hong Kong v Ireland, 7.30pm, Oman v UAE
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Rameez Shahzad, Darius D’Silva, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zawar Farid, Ghulam Shabber, Junaid Siddique, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Waheed Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Zahoor Khan
Players out: Mohammed Naveed, Shaiman Anwar, Qadeer Ahmed
Players in: Junaid Siddique, Darius D’Silva, Waheed Ahmed
The Written World: How Literature Shaped History
Martin Puchner
Granta
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Married Malala
Malala Yousafzai is enjoying married life, her father said.
The 24-year-old married Pakistan cricket executive Asser Malik last year in a small ceremony in the UK.
Ziauddin Yousafzai told The National his daughter was ‘very happy’ with her husband.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
RESULTS
Mumbai Indians 181-4 (20 ovs)
Kolkata Knight Riders 168-6 (20ovs)
Mumbai won by 13 runs
Rajasthan Royals 152-9 (20 ovs)
Kings XI Punjab 155-4 (18.4 ovs)
Kings XI Punjab won by 6 wickets
Sweet%20Tooth
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreator%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJim%20Mickle%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EChristian%20Convery%2C%20Nonso%20Anozie%2C%20Adeel%20Akhtar%2C%20Stefania%20LaVie%20Owen%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
