Klaus Schwab, 2016, The Fourth Industrial Revolution (World Economic Forum), pp.14-26, 47-50, 67-73, 91-104

Klaus Schwag classifies “Megatrends” into three different types. Physical, Digital and Biological. While the three are very different, they form a link to one another and are closely interconnected with each other as the world develops. The potential applications for all three is virtually endless, and one can only imagine how these megatrends will develop in this new digital age.

Leveraging the persuasive power of digitization and information technology, it empowers literally anyone who has an internet connection. Something like giving voice to people in a voiceless environment. Such new technology and trends have proved to influence in ways never expected, and I was especially intrigued by how the biggest companies in the world like Uber, AirBnb, Alibaba are making profits in ways that we never imagined possible before.

The question raised in this reading got me thinking. How do we absorb and accomodate the new modernity while still embracing traditional value systems? I have to say I don’t have a single clue at all. Such trends not only change what we do, but to a certain extent it affect who we are as a person, as a human on this earth. Identity, privacy, relationships are questioned time and time again, and I feel that more is at stake than what we can imagine.