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Article

18 Mar 2019

Author:
Lincoln Ajoku, OpenGlobalRights

Commentary: Civil society has an important role in shaping the Fourth Industrial Revolution

“How civil society can work to improve our technological future,” 13 March 2019

Civil society has an important role in shaping the Fourth Industrial Revolution… Daily reports of privacy breaches, fears of social dislocation due to jobs being lost to automation, and the use of social media platforms for bullying and hate speech may undermine public trust in some of these emerging technologies… Over the past year, the World Economic Forum’s Civil Society team has conducted discussions with leading academics, civil society representatives and leaders, members of government and the private sector, who confirm the need for dedicated action on these technology-related challenges...Given the rapid pace of change in the development and uptake of digital and emerging technologies, civil society is coming under pressure to be responsive to the new opportunities, demands and challenges presented… But while being asked to do more, in many countries they are also coming under greater strain, due to heightened scrutiny from the publicconstraints placed on civic space by governments, and questions about legitimacy… The time is now for civil society to deploy the agility, adaptability and foresight to navigate these challenging issues. [also refers to Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Twitter, WhatsApp]