UJ, 4IR, and the CloudebateTM concept



UJ is the
University of Johannesburg. 4IR is the Fourth Industrial Revolution. CloudebateTM?
Well – it’s a place where really interesting questions are asked, such as: is
the academic thesis a thing of the past? Have books outlived their physical
form? Are we witnessing the demise of childhood? Will eye-tracking, sip and
puff, or exoskeletons lead to true equality of opportunity? Will society change
Africa? Will Africa help change society? Will education teach our children what
they really need to know? And if so, how?



As 4IR
sweeps the world, sending many preconceptions, predilections, and presuppositions
tumbling as it goes, UJ sees the asking of questions like these as a
fundamental response. And it’s responding because, since 2013, when it first embarked
on its strategy of global excellence and stature, the university saw a clear
need to take the lead in exploring the applications, implications and potential
of 4IR. What’s more, it saw a need to do this not just as part of its
positioning as a thought-leader on the continent, but as part of making a
proactive and positive contribution towards African society, education and
enablement.



A vision
of width, a platform of depth



It’s a
significant vision, and as part realising it, UJ has been investigating new and
challenging ways, not just of identifying the issues at stake, but of
presenting them in depth. It sought a way that would bring medium and content,
idea and action, debate and initiative, together on one unique platform.



And that
unique platform, one that UJ has not only created, but given a unique name to
as well, is the CloudebateTM.&nbsp;




The
CloudebateTM



The
CloudebateTM has essentially taken the traditional debate/panel
discussion and reimagined it, placing it firmly within the realm of its own 4IR
scope, and using the latest live-streaming technology. It is the place where 4IR
ideas that have been identified as relevant, meaningful, challenging and
thought-provoking are placed before an expert panel as well as an online
audience who are invited to participate in real time, online, in a very 4IR way,
in the discussion, analysis and dissection. &nbsp;



There have
been seven Cloudebates held so far, and their names provide an insight into
their capacity to provoke thought: The Way Tomorrow Works; Digitally Equal; Is
4IR the Demise of Childhood? Questioning the Answers; Obsolete or Absolute?
Should Books be Shelved? Adding Muscle to Open Doors. 



When
thought is action



It’s all
about the kind of world we are creating for our children to inhabit. What will
the elimination of jobs do to society? Are children growing directly into the immediacy
of adulthood? Are academic theses outdated? Are libraries passé? Can technology
enable opportunity equally for all? 



The digital
reach has been immense, not just in South Africa but globally, where it has
found a worldwide audience. Moreover, UJ’s CloudebateTM initiative
is set to continue into 2020 with further challenges to our received wisdom,
our perceived way of doing things. So, if you have any stimulating 4IR topics
that you would like to see discussed, send them to marketingbrand@uj.ac.za – UJ
would love to hear from you. And if you’d like to see the discussions that have
already taken place, then just go to uj.ac.za/4IR, where you can watch, and
take a view of your own.



Creating
tomorrow



With its innovative CloudebateTM concept, UJ’s pursuit of global excellence has been a most rewarding journey that will continue to develop and expand along with 4IR, and along with UJ’s ongoing commitment to creating tomorrow.



Content provided by the University of Johannesburg

Cloudebate image for Forbes 3 Feb 2020_1910x600px

Where The Medium’s The Topic And The Topic is Topical

The machines are coming for our jobs. This is a dystopian vision of the future of work popularized by the media and perpetuated in boardrooms across the globe.



South Africa is not immune from this misperception and here it has created a climate of fear and paralysis. &nbsp;Leaders, both civic and corporate, hesitate to encourage and incentivise the very digitalization needed to sustain and grow our economies out of a misguided fear of job losses and the ensuing civil backlash.



Ironically, the exact efforts to protect jobs from
technology may end up being the biggest cause of job losses in the future.
Because, without a shift to a Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) mindset,
businesses will progressively become less competitive against their global
peers, eroding their economic relevance and the jobs they sustain. 



Decision makers, therefore, need the courage to embrace
the paradox that while jobs might be subsumed by technology, only technology
will be able to create new ones.



Yes, automation and cognitive technologies will
eliminate jobs; mostly in search of improved efficiencies and productivity, and
to some extent to reduce reliance on expensive, rare and specialised skills. It
is futile and economically reckless to think otherwise.



The good news is that these same technologies will create demand for new skills and new jobs. The World Economic Forum (WEF) conducted an extensive study, leveraging insights from business leaders cumulatively responsible for 15 million people across a variety of sectors, skills and seniority levels globally. The study concluded that for every job that is lost to 4IR popularized technologies, 1.7 jobs will be created.



The consequent economic knock-on effects of these new
jobs, although not quantified, would undoubtedly be significant and further
contribute to net employment.



Unfortunately, the net new jobs will mostly remain in
the domain of the educated and available to those with the means to access and
afford the cost of sourcing new 4IR-related skills.



Green shoots



There are, however, green shoots of positive developments,
led by a new breed of digitally literate entrepreneurs. They have not
“invented” the technology, but instead leverage technology platforms to create
self-employment and economic sustainability. These digitally literate
entrepreneurs, many of them running micro-businesses, are creating employment
and economic activity in lower income level segments in the following key
areas:



1. Distributed value chains



Distributed value chains involve a category of people
who are generally unemployed or under-employed and are able to fulfil a
last-mile service gap by trading in their skills or available time. These
platforms link people with capacity and/or skills constraints to people with
the time and skills needed. This is done in a way that is dignified, safe,
peer-reviewed for quality of service, and enables higher wages compared to
traditional constructs. These platforms have been effective at creating jobs in
developed, low-unemployment economies. Their contribution to employment is
proven, significant and immediately tangible.



2. Collaborative consumption



It is often impossible for small organisations or
individuals to justify the ownership of an asset because of affordability, or
the ability to use the full capacity of the asset. The converse applies in
which access to the asset through a sharing mechanism enables the same benefit
as asset ownership. For example, digital platforms, such as Nigerian start-up
Hello Tractor, that provide access to key equipment on a pay-per-use basis
allow companies and individuals to reap economic benefits from utilising
technology without the associated costs of owning the equipment.



This in turn enhances efficiencies and competitiveness
of small organizations and levels the playing field for them in relation to
large ones. Collaborative consumption has many forms and different levels of
sophistication. At the extremes of technology, companies like 3D Hubs enable
the collaborative consumption of 3D printers, allowing the 3D printer to become
a shareable asset within its community.



3. Digital economic catalysts



Digital platforms increase levels of transparency,
which combined with the network effect of connecting communities and
frictionless transaction flow, is reviving sectors that have lost their appeal
due to a lack of transparency, reduced levels of trust and relevance to
specific demographic groups, and tedious or complex manual processes. These
sectors are being revived by digital platforms that economically empower
micro-entrepreneurs – or allow them to further empower other
micro-entrepreneurs. StokFella and Livestock Invest are good examples of
platforms that have shaken up entrenched concepts.



Digital technologies present both risks and potential.
The way forward is not fixed nor will it be easy, but with the right leaders,
and a mindset of urgency, curiosity and a preparedness to challenge existing
paradigms, we have a good chance of achieving an abundant future.



We also need citizens and entrepreneurs that see opportunity in this new era open to doing things that have never been done before – in ways not previously considered, leveraging technology never before available.



&#8211; Valter Adão is the Chief Digital and Innovation Officer, Deloitte Africa

Valter adao pic

Leaders Need To Embrace, Not Fear, The Digitalized Future Of Work

There is an adage that states “if you want to know the
future of a nation, study the behavior of its teachers”.



The most potent force for political, economic and social progress in society is education. The measure of how great a nation will rise is determined by how many people in its population are educated. The African continent today has a total purchasing power parity gross domestic product (GDP) of $6.7 trillion, and a population of 1.2 billion people. 



According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in 2016, sub-Saharan Africa had a literacy rate of 76% compared to 89% in South and West Asia, 87% in the Arab states and 98% in the developed nations. 



This literacy rate in sub-Saharan Africa is far from adequate, and calls for urgent and practical action to improve it.



READ MORE | <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Amid Trade Wars, What Africa Must Do (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/technology/2019/07/26/amid-trade-wars-what-africa-must-do/" target="_blank">Amid Trade Wars, What Africa Must Do</a>



We are living in an era characterized by the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) where technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain are changing all aspects of our lives. Factories are automating. Because of these changes, the nature of work is changing. 



Many jobs are disappearing altogether, and new types of jobs are being created. For example, we now have jobs that did not exist 20 years ago, such as Data Scientists. AI is now able to diagnose severe diseases such as pulmonary embolism, epilepsy and leukemia complementing the work of medical professionals. Because of the rapid automation in the medical field, doctors today require an in-depth knowledge of technology. 



These changes in society because of 4IR require new sets of skills. Are our education systems ready to capacitate our people with the requisite skills to tackle the problems of 4IR?  Do we have enough teachers at all levels of our educational systems to be able to give our people skills that will make them useful in the 4IR era? Do we have enough educational institutions to be able to skill our people? Unfortunately, the answers to these two questions are in the negative.



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Given that we do not have enough teachers nor educational
institutions to provide a critical mass of our people the requisite
capabilities that will help them survive in the 4IR, what is to be done? One
way of tackling this problem is to take a lesson from the first Indian Prime
Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who realized that for India to thrive in the 20th
century, it needed to invest in elite technical education. In this regard, he
introduced the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT). 



Nehru had this to say in 1956 at the first convocation address of the first IIT in Kharagpur, a city in West Bengal: “…Here in the place of that Hijli Detention Camp stands the fine monument of India, representing India’s urges, India’s future in the making. This picture seems to me symbolical of the changes that are coming to India.” 



It is vital that African countries create a few elite
institutions that will drive the African continent into the 4IR. The
Pan-African University supported by the African Union is a good start, but we
can do more.



Additionally, these elite institutes should not be limited to higher education only but must also focus on primary and secondary education. One example in Johannesburg is the African Leadership Academy (ALA), which targets gifted 16-to-19-year-olds. Today, the ALA has alumni from 46 different countries making an impact on the political, economic, and social aspects of the African continent. 



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For us to thrive in the 4IR era also requires our educational experience to be multi-disciplinary. In our limited institutions of higher learning, students enrolled for programs in the human and social sciences must also study technological subjects. 



Those enrolled in technological programs must study human and social subjects. Technological subjects should focus on the issues that confront the African continent, such as affordable and appropriate technology, limited and incomplete data, and cost-effective manufacturing. 



The human and social subjects should focus on the urgent issues facing Africa today, such as social cohesion, connectivity, stability, conflict and unity. Due to the limitations of physical infrastructure and good teachers, African countries should pull their resources together and invest in online platforms to facilitate education through modern techniques such as blended and augmented learning. 



The outcome of the education system, whether at primary, secondary, or tertiary levels, should be logical, numeracy and verbal skills. These skills will give our people the capacity to tackle the challenges of the 4IR such as coding, problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity and decision-making.  



– Tshilidzi Marwala is a professor, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Johannesburg. He deputizes President Cyril Ramaphosa on the South African Presidential Commission on the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Multi-Disciplinary  Education In The 4IR Era

South Africa has created the Presidential Commission on the
Fourth Industrial Revolution. The President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa,
chairs this commission and I am the Deputy Chairman. The commission consists of
30 members. 



It is tasked with developing South Africa’s strategy around
the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). 



Why this commission and why is the 4IR so important? To answer
these questions, we ought to understand first what the 4IR is and what it
entails. 



As a point of departure, we ought to understand the first, second and third industrial revolutions. The British scientific revolution that gave us Isaac Newton’s laws of motion, gravitation and the study of heat, catalysed the first industrial revolution. 



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The first industrial revolution gave us coal-powered steam
engines that drove trains and ushered the era of using machines to produce
goods and services. The luddites, who were a group of activists hell-bent on
stopping the first industrial revolution, disappeared into the ash heap of
history and the technological revolution marched on.



The scientific revolution that facilitated us to leverage
magnetic and electrical forces called electromagnetism ushered the second
industrial revolution. Electromagnetism gave us electricity and an electric
motor, and these, in turn, spurred the development of the assembly line, which
vastly improved production and introduced mass production in factories. 



The discovery of semiconductors and the invention of a
transistor in the United States (US) ushered the electronic age, which gave us
computers, mobile phones, and ultimately led to the invention of the internet. 



Seventy years after the discovery of a transistor, there is no significant semiconductor company on the African continent. To solve this serious gap in the political economy of the African continent, industries, society and universities on the continent must come together to develop a strategy and the plan of action on how the continent should enter the primary economy of the third industrial revolution. 



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The 4IR is a confluence of digital technologies of the third
industrial revolution, developments in biotechnology through innovations such
as molecular motors, as well as the developments in the physical space through
breakthroughs in new materials and robotics technologies. 



One of the technologies driving the 4IR is artificial
intelligence (AI). Because of AI, machines are gaining intelligence and thus
planes are intelligently flying with minimal interference by pilots, the
factory floor is increasingly automating, and self-driving cars are reaching
maturity. AI is revolutionizing the medical field and making careers such as radiology
redundant.



The implications of the 4IR will be extensive. It will
reduce the world of work and usher a post-work era, where factories will employ
fewer people than ever before. The presidential commission should study this
post-work era and the impact thereof on the labor market, equality and tax
collection.



This commission will explore the viability of strategies
such as the introduction of universal basic income, virtual economic zones and
imposing tax on robots in order to prevent the escalation of poverty and
inequality.



In the 4IR era, some jobs will disappear, some will change
and new types of jobs will be created. It is important that the presidential
commission study these changes and design a strategy on how we should move
forward. This should include the identification of the required set of skills
in order to thrive in the 4IR, and the mechanisms in which the education sector
should plan for the development of such skills.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 



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Kai-Fu Lee, the Chairman of the World Economic Forum Council
on Artificial Intelligence, wrote in his influential book, AI Superpowers, that
in the 4IR, data is becoming the new oil. Countries and companies, such as the
US, China, Google, Facebook, and Alibaba, which collect more data will become
so powerful that they will influence all aspects of our lives. 



The company Cambridge Analytica allegedly influenced the US
election through data analytics. 



This commission should study and recommend how South Africa
should position itself with respect to defence, peace, security, industry,
trade, society and politics in the light of the 4IR. Failure to capture this
4IR moment will relegate us to the dustbin of history. 



– Tshilidzi Marwala is a professor and Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Johannesburg in South Africa.

Tag: 4ir

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

Where The Medium’s The Topic And The Topic is Topical

Leaders Need To Embrace, Not Fear, The Digitalized Future Of Work

Multi-Disciplinary Education In The 4IR Era

The 4IR Strategy To Move Forward