Does South Korea Need to Pivot to Adapt to the Fourth Industrial Revolution?
Japan, Australia, South Korea, Thailand, and Bangladesh have made it to The Qubit Report this week. The topic centers around the nations’ readiness for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. South Korea shows some concern. Qubit.
Excerpt’s and salient points ~
- The welcome speech by the chairman of the Hankook Ilbo, Seung Myung-ho, set this tone by expressing concern about South Korea losing its competitive edge during a decade of slowing economic growth. The country’s incredible 30-year economic growth streak only began to decelerate in the new century. Myung-ho stressed the need for structural reforms to accelerate growth and adapt to the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), a wave of powerful new technologies including artificial intelligence, self-driving cars, and quantum computing that promise unprecedented disruption.
- Moon Hee-sang, the Speaker of the National Assembly, offered something of a counterpoint, but without questioning the growth narrative. He spoke of the need for a grand consensus to strengthen the social safety net, revitalize local economies, and better share the spoils of a growth economy.
- Even as the growth imperative dominated the narrative at the event, some speakers argued, albeit tepidly, that the costs of growth must be addressed.
Source: SHareable, Neal Gorenflo, Is South Korea’s growth-at-all-costs commitment a recipe for disaster?
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