The WEF declares that the world is entering the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Is this the same as the previously branded Knowledge Era ? What distinguishes the fourth industrial revoloution from the previous era ?
AFAIK this is not about "knowledge" but about "everything connected", IoT etc. Which goes hand-in-hand with what's called "Industrie 4.0" here in Germany: about building an "information grid" not too different from the electrical grid we already have.
I found the notions of a second, third and now fourth industrial society to be quite interesting especially when juxtaposed against the concept of a "post-industrial society" which refered to the steady rise of the non-goods or services sector and its effective eclipsing of the manufacturing sector.
The video shares some definitions from the WEF, dating the commencement of the fourth industrial revolution in 2014
Completely rational perspective particularly wrt the binding constraints on silicon-based computing. What of quantum theory and quantum mechanics, have we fully exploited its promise for electronics and computing ? Do you foresee further possible breakthroughs driven by quantum theory ? eg in entanglement or in long-range particle transference
4D printing has the same principle as 3D printing, but it uses smart materials. The forth dimension here is time because with smart material the printed object can change its configuration in reaction to the environmental conditions such as temperature or water.
please find below a link to interesting work on 4D coming from MIT lab, "selfassemblylab"
As many others have observed, improved communication and technology and most recently the linkage between research and development usage have radicalised it.