The Fourth Industrial Revolution is already here, and it’s happening (in some ways) faster than we might think.
In this new world, we see a convergence of technologies—including AI, blockchain, and VR—that are changing the way we work, live, and play.
In many parts of the world, aspects of the Second and Third Industrial Revolutions have yet to be experienced. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is beginning to emerge at the same time that the third, digital revolution is spreading and maturing across countries and organizations.
The concept of our world becoming interconnected through digital technology has been around for a while now—we’ve seen the internet go from being something that was only available at universities to become practically ubiquitous in less than 20 years. But we’re only just getting started with what that means.
In fact, we’re just getting started with how interconnected our physical world can become. We’ve seen the advent of “cyber-physical systems” involving entirely new capabilities for people and machines. These systems will help us achieve more than we ever thought possible—and they’re already doing it!
HR is a field undergoing rapid change
Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more prevalent in HR, and it has the potential to make some significant changes. Artificial intelligence has been around for a while, but it’s still growing. It’s going to be used in HR more and more, and we’re already seeing some great examples of how AI is helping HR professionals do their jobs better.
There are many use cases for AI in HR as AI has already been used in the recruiting process with applicant tracking systems, but it is also being used as a predictive analytics tool to help forecasting workforce metrics.
There are many benefits to using AI in HR as it can help save time on mundane tasks and also identify talent that may not have been found otherwise. Some argue that it could be a threat to jobs because it is taking away human labor. However, this is just one part of the story. AI is also helping create new jobs for people who will be needed in the future as well as provide a higher quality of life for employees.
In just a few short years, the HR world will be changed forever by the arrival of the Alpha Generation (born from 2010).
Born to digital technology like it’s a fifth element of nature, the Alphas will be wealthier, more educated and more dynamic than any generation that human society has yet seen.
More than 2.5 million Alphas are born every week and by 2025 there will be almost two billion of them. The question is: how long before HR gets surprised by the Alphas? Now we can ask HR the classic job-interview question “Where do you see yourself in five to ten years?”.
We often think that the changes caused by the generation of alphas are decades away but it’s only a matter of time before businesses start dealing with this new generation as they do with Millennials & Generation Z today.
