INVESTMENT OUTLOOK FOR 2023 - 20 - The road to industry 4.0 Such progress needs massive investment. However, assessing which will be the long-term winners and avoiding the short-term ‘fads’ can be a challenge. A look at previous revolutions can help. The original industrial revolution, in England between 1760 and 1860, was driven by technological progress, education, and a growing capital stock. It turned the country into ‘the workshop of the world’ and brought about a sustained rise in real income per head. The second industrial revolution, in the US from the 1850s, was driven by factors such as electrification, crude oil production, the rapid spread of telephony, and assembly-line vehicle production. These helped ignite the country’s ascent to a global superpower. By the early 2000s, the productivity potential of the infrastructure upon which the second industrial revolution was built had become exhausted. A new technological infrastructure emerged, driven by computers, IT networks and robotics. These sowed the seeds of Industry 4.0. This latest revolution could be transformative, for economies, the environment, and the way societies are organised This latest revolution could be transformative, for economies, the environment, and the way societies are organised. Technological advances will help reduce the cost Exhibit 1: The fourth industrial revolution has already begun 1st 1760-1860 Industrial revolution • Steam power, water power, mechanisation 2nd 1850s-1914 Technological revolution • Electrification, mass production, division of labour rd 3 1969-2000s Digital revolution • Computers, internet, automation th 4 2010s-present Industry 4.0 • physical systems, internet of things, robotisation Source: visualcapitalist.com, BNP Paribas Asset Management.