Fourth Revolution and the Bottom Four Billion

Nir Kshetri is Professor in the Bryan School of Business and Economics at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

• List of IllustrationsList of TablesList of BoxesPreface and AcknowledgmentsAbbreviationsPart 1: Background and Overview of the Fourth Revolution and the Bottom Four BillionChapter 1: The Fourth Revolution and the bottom four billion: Key underlying concepts and developments Part 2: Major Fourth Revolution technologiesChapter 2: Artificial intelligence Chapter 3: Blockchain Chapter 4: Remote sensing and satellite imageryChapter 5: Internet of things* Part 3: The 4R in economic and social developmentsChapter 6: Healthcare and pandemic preparednessChapter 7: The agricultural sectorChapter 8: Finance, banking, and insurancePart 4: Opportunities, challenges, implications and the way forwardChapter 9: Opportunities, barriers and challengesChapter 10: Economic developmental implicationsChapter 11: Social, political and ethical implications Chapter 12: Discussion, conclusion and recommendationsGlossaryAbout the Author

“Empirical evidence agrees that information and communications technologies have not necessarily benefited the world’s least developed economies, and may have perhaps led to greater disparities. In the emerging Fourth Industrial Revolution, how could technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, remote sensing, and the internet of things be applied so that socioeconomic benefits may accrue to all? Professor Nir Kshetri argues that in order to ensure that the bottom half of humanity also benefit from these transformative innovations, stakeholders must come together to provide the regulatory protection and incentive to the marginalized and vulnerable. Having read a preprint of this book, I recommend it to any serious scholar of ‘tech for good.’”—Ravishankar Sharma, Zayed University, Abu Dhabi & Dubai