President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Friday South Africa must embrace the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and harness the opportunities it offers in order to eradicate the biggest challenges society faces.
The 4IR is the current global trend in which new technologies such as the Internet of Things, robotics, virtual reality and artificial intelligence are changing the way people live and work.
Ramaphosa said that it was the country's collective ambition to harness opportunities offered by the digital revolution to enhancing economic transformation and job creation, improving education outcomes and skills revolution, and enhancing spatial integration, among others.
"Given what we know today about the potential beneficial impacts of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, we must embrace this historic confluence of human insights and engagement, artificial intelligence and technology, to rise to the challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality," he said.
Ramaphosa said that the government has set itself the task to pioneer new technologies and taking quantum leaps towards the economies of the future, and to drastically improve production levels.
He said that the 30-member Presidential Commission on the 4IR he appointed earlier this year is expected to deliver a blueprint and plan to deal with the Revolution and determine areas of development in the short, medium and long-term.
Catch up on the full summit here:
Digital Economy Summit 2019 #4IRSA #DES https://t.co/1I64QCv1d5
— Cyril Ramaphosa ???? (@CyrilRamaphosa) July 5, 2019
