The Fourth Industrial Revolution refers to the convergence of artificial intelligence, big data, robotics, and other technologies to integrate the physical and virtual worlds. This will give humans the ability to go beyond the laws of nature, but it could also lead to major changes in our identity and future. We need to think deeply about whether technological advancement will bring hope or lead to self-destruction.
If you’ve been paying attention to science and technology lately, you’ve probably heard the phrase “fourth industrial revolution” at least once. Since it was mentioned at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2016, it has spread like a pandemic and become one of the biggest issues of our time. But what is the Fourth Industrial Revolution? The Fourth Industrial Revolution is an industrial revolution driven by fields such as artificial intelligence, big data, robotics, and life sciences. In the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, these technologies will converge to create transcendent connectivity, integrating the physical and virtual worlds, and networking all materials, products, and services.
The development of artificial intelligence has led to the creation of a kind of neural network composed of connections of simple processors that mimic the brain, while advances in life sciences have gone beyond facilitating natural selection to directly manipulate at the genetic level in order to obtain superior varieties that are convenient for human use. It’s a literal revolution, no doubt, and one that sounds very new and exciting on paper. But maybe, just maybe, Homo sapiens started on the path to self-destruction with this fourth industrial revolution.
To talk about this in more depth, we need to discuss the philosophical implications of the fourth industrial revolution. To summarize, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is about human beings gaining the inherent power of nature or God. Before humans, all species evolved, competed, and rose and fell according to the so-called laws of nature. In other words, all species arose and died according to the slow, simple, and chance laws of natural selection, with complex interactions with all other organisms in the same ecosystem.
But when humans appeared on the planet, with their vague size, vague physical abilities, and vague means of self-preservation, they began to use other species as their servants, and quickly drove to extinction those that threatened them, or that they disliked. Not satisfied with this, they became the only species to go beyond the laws of natural selection and practice artificial selection. Not only that, but they forged iron to create beings that moved like them, and they electrified pieces of iron to create things that thought like them.
They also broke the boundaries between species by interbreeding and manipulating genes outside of the natural cycle of life and cycles. They have even developed technologies to replace parts of their bodies with robots or replace their senses with delicate artificial devices. We haven’t yet reached the end of perfection in these technologies. But what if these technologies continue to evolve and reach a singularity? At that point, they will endow new beings with characteristics that are uniquely human, and humans with characteristics that are uniquely non-human.
Where, then, is the line between biologically human and non-human, between biologically human and non-human? Where is the difference between a machine that thinks and has emotions, that is made of organic matter and chemical reactions, and a human being that is powered by electricity and hydraulics, and can they each be considered the same? Does human existence come from consciousness, and if so, is a machine that thinks no differently from a human being a human being? Does human existence come from biological features, and if so, can a human being that is mechanized in all parts except consciousness be considered a human being?
We are about to face a crucial question that may go head-to-head with the very identity of humanity. Of course, humans have always been searching for their identity and will never stop doing so. However, we must recognize the need to prepare for the greatest shift in human identity since the dawn of human consciousness. Otherwise, humans will lose their identity and descend into chaos.
In other words, “Homo sapiens” will become extinct. While new technologies are opening up endless possibilities for humans, there comes a point where we need to redefine what it means to be human. Through this process, humanity will face new challenges that we have never faced before, and we will have to redefine our future. The true meaning of the Fourth Industrial Revolution lies not in the advancement of technology, but in the deep reflection on how we use it and how it will affect our lives and human existence.
