To close the growing gap between emerging technology and policy, the governments of Brazil, Denmark, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have joined the World Economic Forum Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The announcements were made at the World Economic Forum industrial strategy meeting 2018.nEach government will partner with leading businesses, start-ups, civil society, academia and international organisations to co-design and pilot new approaches to policy. The new policies will help shape the trajectory of emerging technology and will be piloted by governments and businesses around the world.
Brazil and Denmark will join the internet of things and connected devices project at the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. IoT has the potential to transform economies and improve the quality of life for billions of people. Over $14 trillion could be added to the global economy by 2030 from industrial IoT technologies. According to a recent study, the overwhelming majority of current IoT deployments advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or have the potential to do so.
Brazil will accelerate its efforts to build a competitive and globally recognised IoT ecosystem with a focus on agribusiness, health, city development and industry. Denmark will use IoT to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and develop new models to accelerate the responsible use of IoT and related satellite data. Both governments will send a fellow to the Centre to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and collaboration between the respective governments and the project. The United Arab Emirates, represented by the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs and Future, will partner with the Centre to develop a “future-flexible” national data protocol that includes policy principles and regulatory frameworks. This approach is designed to complement the fast-moving nature of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies, such as artificial intelligence and blockchain. The UAE is the first nation to take this approach.
These governments join Bahrain, India, the Inter-American Development Bank, Japan, Rwanda and the United Kingdom at the Centre in San Francisco. To help the projects scale their impact, new Centres will open in Japan, China and India later this year, creating a global Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Network. “Emerging technologies are advancing at unprecedented speed, putting enormous pressure on regulatory frameworks,” said Klaus Schwab, Executive Chairman and Founder of the World Economic Forum. “The Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Network is a global hub for public-private cooperation to help governments and businesses adopt agile governance policies to maximise the benefits of science and technology for society.” Sixty-one businesses and start-ups have joined the Centre over the past year as partners or members. A full list can be found on our website.
