How India Can Lead The World Into The Fourth Industrial Revolution

Article by Written by Shailesh Sharda, Writer, The Print

The role of AI, data and blockchain * … and the need to overhaul the system (a very tall order indeed):

‘It requires a fundamental overhaul of numerous rules, regulations, legal frameworks, and a change in the core fabric of how political structures, governance systems, and business processes are designed.’

* A blockchain, originally block chain, is a growing list of records, called blocks, which are linked using cryptography. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a timestamp, and transaction data. This innovation has the potential to ‘eliminate intermediaries’ (we’ve heard this before).

Comments —

What matters is innovation that works in the marketplace -- but this is contingent on other factors because it's never one thing in isolation -- scalability, funding, overarching strategy to name a few.

Then there is invention and reconfiguration (re-arranging the pieces already in place) as different engines for innovation.

Most of my work is in the latter category — how can we get more out of what we already have? How can we increase productivity? Are there more efficient options? What’s the cost-effective way to optimise?

Note: as some of these terms are overused (over-abused) to the point where they’ve lost their meaning and application, I will clarify:

By Optimisation I mean – ‘the action of making the best or most effective use of a situation or resource.’

Reconfiguration means – ‘to change the way (something) is arranged or prepared for a particular purpose’ – to get a better business result. Often, everything that we need to improve something is ‘already in the room’ – we don’t need to introduce an external gadget, or expensive technology.

Invention means – ‘to create or design or to be the originator of something that has not existed before’ – like a new application, or device, or even a method.