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Atechnological revolution is a period in which one or moretechnologies is replaced by another new technology in a short amount of time. It is a time of accelerated technological progress characterized byinnovations whose rapidapplication anddiffusion typically cause an abrupt change in society.
A technological revolution may involve material or ideological changes caused by the introduction of a device or system. It may potentially impact business management, education, social interactions, finance and research methodology, and is not limited to technical aspects. It has been shown to increaseproductivity andefficiency. A technological revolution often significantly changes the material conditions of human existence and has been seen to reshape culture.[1]
A technological revolution can be distinguished from a random collection oftechnology systems by two features:
1. A strong interconnectedness and interdependence of the participating systems in their technologies and markets.
2. A potential capacity to greatly affect the rest of the economy (and eventually society).[2]
On the other hand, negative consequences have also been attributed to technological revolutions. For example, the use ofcoal as anenergy source have negative environmental impacts, including being a contributing factor toclimate change and the increase ofgreenhouse gases[3] in the atmosphere, and have causedtechnological unemployment.Joseph Schumpeter described this contradictory nature of technological revolution ascreative destruction.[4] The concept of technological revolution is based on the idea that technological progress is notlinear butundulatory. Technological revolution can be:
The concept of universal technological revolutions is a "contributing factor in theNeo-Schumpeterian theory of long economic waves/cycles",[5] according toCarlota Perez,Tessaleno Devezas, Daniel Šmihula and others.
Some examples of technological revolutions were theNeolithic Revolution, theIndustrial Revolution in the mid 1800s, thescientific-technical revolution about 1950–1960, and theDigital Revolution. The distinction between universal technological revolution and singular revolutions have been debated. One universal technological revolution may be composed of several sectoral technological revolutions (such as inscience,industry, ortransport).
There are several universal technological revolutions during themodern era inWestern culture:[6]
Comparable periods of well-defined technological revolutions in thepre-modern era are seen as highly speculative.[7] One such example is an attempt by Daniel Šmihulato to suggest a timeline of technological revolutions in pre-modernEurope:[8]
Each revolution comprises the following engines for growth:
Technologicalrevolutions has historically been seen to focus on cost reduction. For instance, the accessibility of coal at a low cost during theIndustrial Revolution allowed foriron steam engines which led to production ofIron railways, and the progression of theinternet was contributed by inexpensivemicroelectronics forcomputer development.[citation needed] A combination of low-cost input and newinfrastructures are at the core of each revolution to achieve their all pervasive impact.[9]
Since 2000, there has been speculations of a new technological revolution which would focus on the fields ofnanotechnologies,alternative fuel and energy systems,biotechnologies,genetic engineering, newmaterials technologies and so on.[10]
The Second Machine Age is the term adopted in a 2014 book byErik Brynjolfsson andAndrew McAfee. The industrial development plan ofGermany began promoting the termIndustry 4.0. In 2019, at theWorld Economic Forum meeting inDavos, Japan promoted another round of advancements calledSociety 5.0.[11][12]
The phraseFourth Industrial Revolution was first introduced byKlaus Schwab, the executive chairman of theWorld Economic Forum, in a 2015 article inForeign Affairs.[13] Following the publication of the article, the theme of theWorld Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2016 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland was "Mastering the Fourth Industrial Revolution". On October 10, 2016, the Forum announced the opening of its Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution inSan Francisco.[14] According to Schwab, fourth era technologies includes technologies that combine hardware,software, andbiology (cyber-physical systems),[15] and which will put an emphases on advances incommunication andconnectivity. Schwab expects this era to be marked by breakthroughs in emerging technologies in fields such asrobotics,artificial intelligence,nanotechnology,quantum computing,biotechnology, theinternet of things, theindustrial internet of things (IIoT),decentralized consensus,fifth-generation wireless technologies (5G),3D printing andfully autonomous vehicles.[16]
Jeremy Rifkin includes technologies like5G, autonomous vehicles,Internet of Things, andrenewable energy in the Third Industrial Revolution.[17]
Some economists do not think that technological growth will continue to the same degree it has in the past.Robert J. Gordon holds the view that today'sinventions are not as radical aselectricity and theinternal combustion engine were. He believes that modern technology is not as innovative as others claim, and is far from creating a revolution.[18]
The possibilities of billions of people connected by mobile devices, with unprecedented processing power, storage capacity, and access to knowledge, are unlimited. And these possibilities will be multiplied by emerging technology breakthroughs in fields such as artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet of Things, autonomous vehicles, 3-D printing, nanotechnology, biotechnology, materials science, energy storage, and quantum computing.
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