As the world accelerates into digital transformation, a lot of attention is being put on the technologies, processes, and infrastructure involved to drive the IR4.0 agenda. People, or human capital, have also been identified as a key to the success of digital initiatives. However, to fully embrace IR4.0, it is said that there is also a need to nurture social capital, which allows people to work together effectively to achieve a common purpose or goal. In short, social capital benefits society as a whole through social relationships1.
Despite their eagerness to embrace digital transformation and step up their game in terms of physical and human capital, organisations must never lose sight of social capital and relationships because, IR4.0 is more than technology-driven change.
According to Associate Professor Dr Lokhman Hakim Osman, Director of the Yunus Social Business Centre, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, organisations are continuously working to improve on systems and IR4.0 will allow us to push these systems to degrees that were previously unimaginable.
“With the advancement of IR4.0, we would be able to create super humans. How is this possible? IR4.0 and Big Data gives us data that is good enough, strong enough, and deep enough to use for health, biotech, and information technology. Information technology and big data makes it possible for us to predict what will happen in the future.
“Imagine coming home one day, feeling stressed, but the system of your house is able to predict the ideal temperature and your mood, for example, and plays your favourite song to ease you into a better mood,” he said in a plenary forum session on Social Impact and Talent Development at the 3rd International Conference on Innovation and Technopreneurship (ICIT 2020).
The online conference hosted by INTI International University was held from 24-25 September 2020, and brought together great academic and industry minds to share innovative experiences and ideas that could lead the nation into the 21st century.
While so much effort is being put into preparing physical capital (infrastructure) and human capital (training and development), Dr Lokhman pointed out that we need to nurture social capital, so that we will be able to embrace IR4.0 and future advancements with optimum readiness.
“Despite our physical distance, the advancement of IR4.0 keeps us close through technology and enables us to communicate using WhatsApp and email. Social capital does not develop through these types of communication channels, and if it does, it takes a very long time,” he added.
Sharing the same sentiment was Associate Professor Dr Cecilia Chan, Founding Chair of the Asian Society for Engineering Education (AsiaSEE), who expressed concern that instead of robots and machines acting more like humans, humans are acting more like machines.
“Look at what we are doing. We are talking to a box! While I know you are all on the other side, in some ways, we are talking to a black box most of the time. The younger generation is born with digital technology. To them, not talking and not having that human touch is normal.
“I wanted to clap at the end of the keynote address earlier, but I couldn’t because I was muted and even if I clapped the speaker wouldn’t be able to hear me. Are we not missing this? It is not that the keynote speaker needs our claps, but in some ways, we need this encouragement and feedback right? It is a way to say we agree or disagree, but somehow, this digitalisation has left us lacking human touch and that is a big concern for me,” she said during the same plenary forum.
Dr Cecilia shared that besides the other impacts of IR4.0 to society, such as job losses, cybersecurity, and digital poverty, the biggest problem is what is missing from the equation – a hug, kindness, and empathy.
Associate Professor Dr Lokhman Hakim Osman (bottom row, second from left), Associate Professor Dr Cecilia Chan (bottom row, left), and Zhou Yong (middle row, left) were invited to speak at the 3rd International Conference on Innovation and Technopreneurship (ICIT 2020) organised by INTI International University in September 2020.
Meanwhile, Zhou Yong, Secretary General of the Alibaba Business School, came into the plenary forum discussion with a different point of view, one that is from a digital economy perspective.
“At Alibaba, we feel that digital transformation is not about technology, but instead it is about people because of the ways that it resolves problems. People are more enabled and empowered now than before, especially small businesses and small and medium enterprises.
“When I talk about Taobao village, a model that is now being copied and learned by other countries, it is a classic example of how e-commerce and digital infrastructure has really changed people’s lives. I don’t think it creates a social divide or digital poverty, it’s actually vice versa. I went to many villages in China and saw how e-commerce helped people sell products worldwide and nationwide,” he said.
In addition to this, Zhou said customers are changing and this pushes businesses and services to also change and adapt. The digital economy is more human-centric and not cold at all.
“Now we have to communicate with our customers on a more human touch basis. It requires businesses to not just sell a product or service, but actually resonate emotionally with customers more. I remember a discussion I had recently with INTI and we talked about digital transformation and education. It’s not about technology, it’s about making education student-centric. Being away from students, lecturers need to prepare a lesson or case study that helps students focus and engage. Think about how the students feel,” he said.
Despite their eagerness to embrace digital transformation and step up their game in terms of physical capital and improving human capital, organisations must never lose sight of social capital and relationships, because IR4.0 is more than technology-driven change. IR4.0 is a way to use technology to create a human-centred future that positively impacts a nation and its people.