“Imagine trying to tell someone on the cusp of the Second Industrial Revolution in 1914 that that the next war – not the one they’re just about to fight – will be ended by a hydrogen bomb,” writes Ben Pring, Vice President and Director, Center for the Future of Work, on the Digitally Cognizant Blog. “That’s the leap we must now make: to imagine how the things that will be invented on the platforms of 5G, IoT, big data and AI will make the tools and technologies of the Third Industrial Revolution seem no more powerful than the Gatling gun.”

Excerpt’s from Pring’s recent blog post:

“The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos this year will be the epicenter of two of the world’s most important trends:

• The rollout of 5G, the next-generation networking infrastructure that will more tightly bind together the world’s 7.7 billion people, as well as the four billion ‘things’ expected to be deployed by 2020.
• The ongoing rise of 1.2 billion people residing in China, led by President for life, Xi Jinping.

Every other aspect of the Fourth Industrial Revolution – the hot topic once again in Davos at the World Economic Forum meeting – must be placed within this macro context. 5G + Xi = 6G.

5G networks lay the foundation for fulfilling the promise of the Internet of Things, big data and artificial intelligence. For those of us who can remember the hiss of a dial-up modem, 5G  speeds – which offer the ability to watch Netflix on the morning commute – seem astonishing. G’s 4 through 1 are nothing compared with the power and speed that 5G is set to present us.

Meanwhile, China wants to right the wrongs of the Third Industrial Revolution, the period in which the great European powers, plus the U.S. and Japan, developed technologically and economically in ways that placed China at a disadvantage. The ‘great humiliation’ (as it is euphemistically known in China) is said to have caused so much psychological pain that the country is now laser-focused on dominating the next great wave of geopolitical/socioeconomic advancement: the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

That 5G runs through the Fourth Industrial Revolution…that American and Chinese greatness is predicated on priority in this next phase of the great game…that national security now rests largely on   that the incredible opportunities available to improve the state of the world rest on ongoing technological development – that all of these trends intersect at Davos 2019 is evidence enough that this year’s annual meeting has never been greater. This is particularly true in the current climate, in which it would be easy to be cynical about our ability to navigate such turbulent waters.”

Click here to read more.